Security & Strategic Review - October 2026

Public trust in Brazil’s supreme court (STF) has been undermined as tensions have flared between justices over the handling of the Banco Master corruption case [EB-26-01]. The judicial crisis intensified in early September when the overseer of the Banco Master probe, STF justice André Mendonça, unsealed case files containing evidence that his colleague on the top court, STF justice Alexandre de Moraes, might have been in contact with the CEO of Banco Master, Daniel Vorcaro, the central suspect of the case. The high-profile case has become increasingly politicised, especially as the STF infighting escalated just weeks before Brazil’s October elections, in which President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is seeking re-election.