A statement by the president of the Superior Labor Court, Vieira de Mello Filho, about the existence of “red and blue” judges triggered a public clash between ministers of the Court this Monday (4). The episode, which began after a snippet of his speech went viral on social media, exposed internal disagreements and provoked a heated exchange during a plenary session.
The controversy originated from a statement made by Vieira de Mello Filho at an event, in which he mentioned the classification of magistrates as either "blue" or "red". The statement was interpreted on social media as a reference to political or ideological positions within the Judiciary.
During the session, the president of the TST (Superior Labor Court) stated that the published excerpt was "malicious" and that his intention was precisely to reject this type of labeling. According to him, Labor Justice should be marked by a plurality of ideas, without division between factions: "There are no blue or red judges. I come from a time when all of us, with our different thoughts, worked for the development, strengthening, and growth of Labor Justice."
Exchange of accusations in the plenary session.
The episode took on new dimensions when Minister Ives Gandra Filho reacted to the statements, affirming that, in practice, there are different legal views within the court, such as more liberal or more interventionist currents. "There are ministers who have a more liberal and more interventionist view; some are more legalistic, others more activist. This reality cannot be hidden," stated Gandra Filho.
The disagreement led to a direct exchange of criticism between the two ministers. Vieira de Mello Filho accused his colleague of contributing to the creation of labels within the Court, while Ives Gandra Filho countered, stating that recognizing differences does not mean attacking the institution.
The president of the TST also stated that his statement aimed to defend Labor Justice, which, according to him, was under threat. He also mentioned concerns about courses aimed at lawyers that would classify ministers according to their decisions.
"Having been given the color they assigned me, I wanted to make it clear what my cause was. My cause is the defense of the institution. I don't participate in any paid events. I was telling the judges that we need to defend our Justice system, which is under threat," replied Vieira de Mello Filho.
Internal divisions come to light.
During the debate, Ives Gandra Filho emphasized that the existence of differing viewpoints is natural and part of the functioning of a pluralistic court. He argued that disagreements should be treated with respect and can contribute to the development of jurisprudence.
“All of this is a reality that we see daily in court. We have to know how to live with our differences, always respecting each other, and through them we will build labor jurisdiction,” said Gandra.
The discussion also involved indirect criticism of public statements by judges and the relationship between higher courts. Amid the confrontation, Vieira de Mello Filho questioned the impact of statements that, according to him, could weaken the image of the Labor Court: “This court is plural. There has always been internal disagreement. But the internal disagreements were built on ideas and arguments, not on labels.”
Intervention to contain the conflict
Minister Maria Cristina Peduzzi intervened in the debate and criticized the tone adopted by her colleagues. She stated that she saw "no democratic attitude" in the argument and defended the idea that each magistrate should be held accountable for their actions individually. "I see no democratic attitude in an argument like this. Everyone here acts in the name of justice and are agents of justice. No one here is compromised by interests or causes," declared the minister.
The episode, which lasted more than 30 minutes, highlighted internal tensions within the Court and brought to the forefront the debate about the actions and independence of judges, as well as the limits of publicly exposing these disagreements.
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