Joaquim Barbosa

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Joaquim Benedito Barbosa Gomes, more popularly known as Joaquim Barbosa, is the first Afro-Brazilian Chief Justice of his country’s supreme court (Supremo Tribunal Federal or STF). But more than being the highest court’s first black president, Joaquim Barbosa is hailed as a national hero by his people because of his fearless stand regarding the biggest corruption case ever heard in the country—the Mensalao (or Big Monthly Allowance). Without inhibitions, he faced the Chief of Staff of former Brazilian President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and convicted him and his cohorts for using the people’s money for their personal gain.

Achievements

Why Joaquim Barbosa is Extraordinary

Joaquim Barbosa is a well-loved figure in Brazil for his uncompromising stand in corruption. He is the first Afro-Brazilian president of the country’s Supreme Court. Poverty did not stop him from becoming a lawyer and being an agent of change. For his fellow black Brazilians, Joaquim is a hero and an inspiration. Known to them as the “Punisher,” Joaquim is also touted as “The Poor Boy Who Changed The World” by his fellow Brazilians.

To him,

"Justice by itself and for itself does not exist. It only exists in the shape and dimension that men want and conceive it. Justice is human, is historical. There is no justice without law or culture. Justice is the innate element of social behavior. That’s the reason why the idea of justice is inseparable from the idea of equality. That is to say: material equality of rights, whether they are legally established or morally required... the most sacred right of the rights, which is to be treated equally and receive the same consideration, the same one given to the every citizen, 'A', 'B' or 'C'." (Source: Supremo Tribunal Federal)

The celebrated Judge is a virtuoso violinist and pianist. A Portuguese, he is also fluent in German, Italian, French, and English. Joaquim was a son of a poor bricklayer who deserted his family of nine. He’s got eight siblings and a mother who had no means of sending them to school. On his own, he finished his high school studies working as a janitor. He also earned his way through college by way of scholarships and became a lawyer with a doctorate degree from a French university.

His name became internationally known after the Mensalao trial. Mensalao in English means “big monthly allowance.” Around 35 million dollars of Brazilians’ money were said to be used as bribe for legislators to vote in favor of decrees and laws initiated by Luis Inacio Lula da Silva’s government. The man behind these corruption was the co-founder of former President Lula da Silva’s party (The Partido dos Trabalhadores), José Dirceu de Oliveira e Silva. The trial was presided by Joaquim Barbosa, former President Lula da Silva’s appointee in the Supreme Court. Far from showing leniency, Joaquim lashed at the defendants and the Brazilian people rejoiced because for the first time in history, corrupt officials are made to pay for misappropriating funds.

Joaquim Barbosa grew up in an environment where corruption was ubiquitously present and has long become the norm. He is one of the few who chose not to keep quiet about the injustices happening around him. Since his appointment as Chief of Justice, he has made known his desire to speed up the hearing process in Brazilian courts. He is also hailed by the business sector for his independent approach when it comes to legislating laws. Known for his candidness, Joaquim has been regarded by the people as someone who would make an ideal president. To that, he has the following to say:

"Actually, I never thought of me being president of Brazil. First of all, I’m not a politician. I never have been and I think I’m a very unlikely person for this kind of job because of my frankness. I’ve never dealt with political parties. I have no connections with political parties. So, I don’t think so." (Source: Bloomberg)

We are one with the Brazilian people in hoping for a better judicial system and abolishment of racial discrimination. Joaquim Barbosa makes an effective catalyst.

Top Reasons why Joaquim Barbosa is Extraordinary

He is the first Afro-Brazilian to become president of their Supreme Court.
Despite being an appointee of former president of Brazil, he did not show impartiality when his allies were questioned about misappropriating funds.
He keeps doing his duty despite having an illness called sacroiliitis, an inflammatory disease.
He is called the Punisher and The Poor Boy Who Changed Brazil.
He supported his own education by working as a janitor and a typesetter.
He is a virtuoso violinist and pianist.
He speaks Portuguese, Italian, German, French, and English.
He is one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World of year 2013.
He used to be a visiting scholar at the Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School and the UCLA School of Law.
He is a member of the board of directors of CARE Brazil and Global Justice.

Biography

Biography of Joaquim Barbosa

Date of Birth: Thursday, 07 October 1954 | Born in: / Nationality: Brazil

From Poverty to Judiciary

Many times we have heard of people rising from abject poverty to affluence by sheer perseverance. The unassuming Joaquim Barbosa opted for something that’s not easily attainable—respect. Success has a lot of names and could come in different forms. It can be fortune, glamour, fame, recognition, and the list goes on and on. But what Joaquim has achieved is something far greater than success. He earned the respect of the whole nation. His rags to riches story only added glitter to his “success.”

For someone who everybody looks up to as their inspiration and icon, Joaquim neither has the looks of a dashing debonair nor is he obsessed in keeping his image impeccably immaculate. His colleagues complain about his harsh way of getting his message across. He’s not the type who would tolerate mediocrity and misbehavior at the very least. Joaquim doesn’t care who he is up against. Those who are in the wrong would find a scathing enemy in this no-nonsense judge.

As an Afro-Brazilian, Joaquim earned his law degree by working long hours as a janitor and typesetter. He came from a broken family but he never gave up his dream of becoming a lawyer in spite of the odds. Brilliance and hard work got him to where he is now. Ever since he was a young boy, he’s lived a hard life. This must be why he has relegated himself as the defender of justice and human rights of his fellow Brazilians in a corrupt-ridden country. In a nation bereft of political transparency, it is not only difficult to remain uncorrupted—it is impossible. People are so used to hearing about corruption that they have become desensitized. They elect politicians with questionable ethics in office not once but over and over again. Such was the state of Brazil, one of the world’s most corrupt countries.

This was the political milieu that Joaquim grew up in. But he did not let hopelessness keep him from doing his part in trying to change the country for the better. He endured poverty, discrimination, and biases. When he prevailed, he doesn’t bask in his glory. Instead, he used his influence and knowledge in making those responsible for their poverty and economic crisis pay for betraying the trust of the people.

Early Life and Education

Joaquim is the eldest among the children of a bricklayer and a housewife. He was born on 7 October 1954 in the small town of Paracatu in Minas Gerais state. His father barely earned enough to feed his family. Getting tired of their miserable life, his father took the easy way out and left all of them to the care of their mother.

As the eldest child, not to mention the eldest male in the family, the overwhelming responsibility of fending for their family rested on Joaquim’s young shoulders. Determined to change their circumstances in life, he turned to education. He attended Dom Serafim Gomes Jardim and State Public School Antonio Carlos when he was in elementary. At 16, he left for Brasilia to pursue his high school studies without the support of his single parent. Joaquim couldn’t expect more from his mother considering that she had seven more mouths to feed. To ease their burden, he went looking for a job and continued his secondary education by working as a janitor in the Brasilia court.

Little did the teenage Joaquim know that he is destined to lead the very halls he was cleaning. Although poor, Joaquim has a spirit of a warrior. Aside from being a janitor, he also worked at the local Correio Braziliense newspaper. He persevered until finally he completed his high school studies from the Elefante Branco, a public school in Brasilia. Normally, a black Brazilian would be contented with that. But not Joaquim—he wanted to achieve more. Following his high school graduation, he worked as a typesetter in the Graphic Centre in the Federal Senate from 1973 to 1976.

Career

He spent another three years as the Chancellery Officer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Embassy of Brazil in Helsinki, Finland—his first overseas experience from 1976 to 1979. He did all that while continuing his law degree. In 1979, he secured his law degree from the University of Brasília and was immediately hired by the Foreign Ministry.

For the next five years, he served as lawyer to the Federal Data Processing Service or SERPRO and left to become a federal prosecutor for the Brazilian Public Ministry in Brasilia in 1984. He was later on assigned in Rio de Janeiro. Joaquim spent nine years of his life as prosecutor for the Brazilian Public Ministry.

While being a prosecutor, he also became part of other public agencies such as the Ministry of Health where he was the Head of the Legal Advisory from 1985 to 1988. A natural achiever, Joaquim became a recipient of research grants from CNPq from 1988 to 1992. He spent those three years undergoing an extensive doctoral program which earned him three post graduate diplomas. Joaquim went to France to complete his doctorate degree from the DEA - Droit Public Interne-Pantheon-Assas University in France in 1993. Apart from his mother tongue, Portuguese, his travels also made Joaquim fluent in four other languages—English, French, German, and Italian.

Joaquim has dabbled into the academe. In fact, he became a visiting scholar at the Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School and at the UCLA School of Law from 1999 to 2001. He was made a recipient of grants by the Ford Foundation, Fulbright Foundation, and CNPq. His career’s biggest break as a lawyer, however, was in 2003 when he was appointed by then-president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to the Supreme Court. The former president left a mark in history by doing so.

Discrimination in Brazil

Although most Brazilians identify themselves as Afro descents, the black population remains marginalized. Given their number, the black people are still regarded second class citizens. For instance, very few hold high political positions in the government. In the history of their Supreme Court, in particular, only two black judges preceded Joaquim—and they are of mixed race with skin color far lighter than that of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s appointee. So that makes Joaquim the first pure Afro-Brazilian to serve as judge in the highest court of the country.

Many years ago, Joaquim worked as a janitor in the halls and courtroom where he now hears cases. It was a breath of fresh air for the Afro-Brazilian people because they see someone of their color brushing elbows with white Brazilians. In retrospect, it was a turning point not only in Joaquim’s life but also in the lives of many aspiring Afro-Brazilians who are also dreaming of following in his footsteps. Three years later, he was appointed vice president of the Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (Superior Electoral Court). He served three years holding that position.

It is a custom in Brazil’s Supreme Court to hand the presidency to the Justice that held the longest tenure. Twice Joaquim had to pass up the opportunity because of a recurrent ailment called sacroiliitis. According to medical definitions, sacroiliitis is the inflammation of the sacroiliac joint, making it akin to arthritis. This condition makes sitting down for long hours uneasy for Joaquim as the pain in his back gets unbearable the longer he stays seated. But this doesn’t keep the judge out of the courtroom. More often, Joaquim is seen presiding cases standing up in order to alleviate the discomfort he feels.

The Mensalao Trial

In his tenure as judge in the Supreme Court, he has 8,460 actions under his responsibility. Joaquim is quite a workaholic. He became a household name when the Mensalao or Big Monthly Allowance in English scandal erupted. During the presidency of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2005—a year before he ran for a second term—his Chief of Staff, José Dirceu de Oliveira e Silva, got embroiled in an embezzlement case. Both Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and José Dirceu de Oliveira e Silva belong to The Partido dos Trabalhadores (Worker’s Party) and were considered the top leaders for founding the party together.

Word went around about the party’s involvement in bribes. In June 2005, Roberto Jefferson, an ally of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was said to be leading a well-orchestrated corruption scheme in Brazil’s Postal Office. When investigations ensued, Roberto squealed and told the public about the party’s vote-buying arrangement. He revealed that members of the congressional coalition were receiving 15,000 dollars of monthly allowance provided they guarantee supporting legislative bills processed in the government.

Belonging in the same party and working closely together, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was questioned as well as his Chief of Staff, José Dirceu de Oliveira e Silva. José Dirceu de Oliveira e Silva and around 25 of his cohorts faced charges ranging from money laundering and misuse of public funds, to active and passive corruption and formation of a criminal organization. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva issued a statement saying that he knew nothing about the ongoing bribery and red-tape existing in his government. The President was not implicated in the case and even managed to get the people’s trust back. He was re-elected in 2006.

In 2012, the case was tried and Joaquim, the very appointee of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, presided the case. Joaquim did not show any impartiality during the trial. If anything, he was his independent self all throughout. It did not matter that the person they are trying is an ally of the President who put him in power. It was a dazzling show. Asked if he considers Mensalao as one of the most important trials in the history of Brazil, Joaquim explained:

"The case is indeed the most important for Brazil because it involves high-ranking officials of the party in power. It’s the party of the most popular political man (Lula) in the country. The case is also important because it involves bankers, highly placed people in politics, in the economy and the administration. And add the fact that the trial is broadcast daily on TV. It’s about the law, but it’s also about politics." (Source: Bloomberg)

José Dirceu de Oliveira e Silva was sentenced to a 10-year imprisonment and a fine of 330,000 dollars for spending 35 million dollars of the government’s money in providing for legislators’ monthly allowance for them to support laws they initiated. The businessman behind the money laundering scheme was sentenced to 40 years of incarceration.

Because of his tough stance in corruption, Joaquim was dubbed by his people as the “Punisher.” He was also called “The Poor Boy Who Changed Brazil.”

Organizations and Programmes Supported

Supreme Federal Trial Court
Federal Public Ministry
Rio de Janeiro State University
Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School
UCLA School of Law
Ford Foundation
Institute of International Education - IIE
CARE Brazil
Global Justice

Awards and Achievements

1973-1976: Served as typesetter in the Graphic Centre in the Federal Senate
1976-1979: Served as Chancellery Officer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Embassy of Brazil in Helsinki, Finland
1979: Studied Law at University of Brasília
1979: Hired by the Foreign Ministry
1979-1984: Served as lawyer to the Federal Data Processing Service - SERPRO
1984-2003: Became a federal prosecutor for the Brazilian Public Ministry in Brasilia and later in Rio de Janeiro
1985-1988: Served as Head of the Legal Advisory of the Ministry of Health
1988-1992: Underwent an extensive doctoral program which earned him three post graduate diplomas
1988-1992: Recipient of research grants from CNPq
1990: Completed his master's
1993: Completed his doctorate degree from DEA - Droit Public Interne -Pantheon-Assas University
1999-2000: Recipient of research grants from the Ford Foundation
1999-2001: Served as a visiting scholar at the Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School
1999-2001: Served as a visiting scholar at the UCLA School of Law
2002-2003: Recipient of research grants from the Fulbright Foundation
2003: Appointed to the Supreme Court
2006: Became the Vice-president of the TSE
2006-2009: Served in the Superior Electoral Court
2012: Became Chief Justice of Brazil
2012: Presided over the country’s largest political-corruption trial
2012: Has 8,460 actions under his responsibility being processed by the Court
2013: Elected by Time magazine one of the 100 most influential people in the world
One of the 25 Brazilians to watch according to FT
The first black president of Brazil’s Supreme Court
A virtuoso violinist and pianist
Learned four foreign languages
Speaks 5 languages
Member of the Federal Public Ministry
Adjunct Professor at Rio de Janeiro State University