Fachin replaces Judge Luis Roberto Barroso, and lawyer Alexandre de Moraes will serve as vice president.

Among other responsibilities, the Chief Justice of the STF must set the trial agenda, direct the court’s administrative management, preside over the National Council of Justice, and represent the court before the other branches of the State.

Fachin will also face the challenge of pacifying the Supreme Court’s relations with the National Congress and supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for leading the coup attempt.

Amid a turbulent climate of tension, the court is also entering an election year in 2026 that anticipates an increase in attacks from candidates allied with the far-right former president.

However, Fachin has already expressed the court’s importance in defending democracy.

During a ceremony at the Planalto Palace, the seat of the Executive Branch in Brasilia, on January 8, the new Supreme Court head defended the role of the Judiciary in ensuring the punishment of those involved in the attacks on the capital’s headquarters of the Three Powers two years ago.

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