Supreme Federal Court (STF) President Edson Fachin used a gathering of Black judges in Rio de Janeiro to argue that the next appointment to Brazil’s highest court should take account of qualified Black women already serving in the judiciary.

Speaking at the National Meeting of Black Judges, Fachin said the presentations by magistrates at the event made the case plainly: “Those entitled to decide a future vacancy on the Brazilian Supreme Court would know that there are Black women judges worthy of this place, to honor Brazil and the Brazilian people.”¹

The two accounts agree on the central point: Fachin did not present the issue as a lack of available candidates, but as a matter of recognizing credentials that have long been overlooked. Citing National Justice Council data, he said Black people make up 15% of judges and 28% of judicial staff nationwide. He described that imbalance as historical rather than merit-based: “This asymmetry is neither chance nor lack of merit; it is inheritance.”²

Fachin’s broader argument is that the judiciary has a responsibility to confront racial inequality, not merely observe it. He said Brazilian courts had, at points in history, acted as inequality’s “endorser.”² The other account adds that he linked this view to the STF’s recognition of structural racism and to judicial guidance asking judges to consider racial inequality in their decisions.¹

The vacancy nonetheless remains subject to political negotiations. It opened after Luís Roberto Barroso’s departure in October 2025, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has not sent a replacement nominee after the Senate rejected then-attorney general Jorge Messias. Reports cited by one account say Lula is weighing another attempt with Messias or a possible nomination of former senator Rodrigo Pacheco.¹

Fachin also cautioned that gender-equity policies without a racial dimension can exclude those facing both forms of inequality: “the Black woman judge.”¹