O STF e o caso “mensalão”: hibridismo, expertise e política

Abstract

This thesis aims to discuss the relationship between expertise and politics in the scope of the ministers of the Supreme Federal Court (STF). The essence of this research is the understanding of the behavior of the Supreme Court in the criminal decision process in Criminal Action number 470 (AP 470), known as the “Mensalão” case. The theoretical foundation was based on the conception of Sociology of Professions, which highlights the boundaries between professional and conventional politics, relating the first to arguments based on the ideal of professionalism and knowledge, as a moral mandate in defense of society (HALLIDAY, 1999), differing from political and partisan commitments. In effect, we passed the analysis of the ministers' votes, whose emphasis was on the so-called “Mensalão” political nucleus, based on the official material made available online by the STF, and on TV Justiça videos referring to the trial, listing this material with the professional trajectory of the magistrates. The research also relied on secondary sources, to obtain quantitative and qualitative data relevant to the case. And, therefore, we resort to the contribution of Judicial Politics, in the analysis of the role of courts in the political decision-making process, notably in relation to the court's decision-making process in order to detach this study from the respective criminal action.