The judge had interrupted his holidays yesterday to look into the statements of 77 executives of construction company Odebrecht, one of the companies under investigation. The statements, provided in exchange of sentence reduction benefits for the plaintiffs, would give way to new investigations.

Last December, the statements by former head of Institutional Relations of Odebrecht, Cláudio Melo Filho, were leaked, in which he mentioned Michel Temer 44 times. According to Melo Filho, Temer mediated in financial contribution requests for his party, and at least one for himself, according to DCM news outlet .

Ironically, according to statements by experts to Brasil de Fato, it is Temer himself, as established by law, the one in charge of appointing Zavascki´s replacement.

President Dilma Rousseff expressed her condolences via Twitter: "Teori dedicated his life to Law and was zealous of laws and Justice. I had the privilege to appoint him as Federal Supreme Court Justice, with the widespread approval by Senate. He served with fearlessness and integrity. My condolences to his friends and family".