Justice Rosa Weber took office as president of the Federal Supreme Court for a term until October 2023 and, in her first speech in office, sent a veiled message to President Jair Bolsonaro.
"Failure to comply with court orders is not even considered in a democratic state of law."
The chief executive, who has already threatened to ignore orders from the Supreme Court and makes frequent attacks on court Justices, did not attend the ceremony, nor did former president Lula, who is also running in the elections in October.
Both were present in the ceremony when Alexandre de Moraes took office as the head of the Supreme Electoral Court.
In her speech, Rosa, 73, defended the Brazilian electoral system, the rule of law, secularism, religious freedom, and the rejection of hate speech.
"Without an independent and strong Judiciary, without independent judges and without a free press there is no democracy." She succeeds Luiz Fux as head of the court.
With a lowkey profile and averse to public exposure, the Justice is the third woman in the post, after Ellen Gracie and Cármen Lúcia, and the first career judge.
Rosa intends for the first months of her administration to not be marked by controversies that may put the institution under the spotlight, as it seems to have been the custom lately.
Translated by Cassy Dias