Brazil’s first black Supreme Court Justice lauded for punishing corruption in “trial of the century”

Joaquim Barbosa, Brazil’s first black Supreme Court Justice, has become a public favorite after presiding over a corruption trial that is sent former politicians to jail for using public funds to bribe legislators. Not only is Barbosa’s rise from a hardscrabble background to the highest echelons of the country’s legal system an inspiring story of social mobility, the case itself is a sign that Brazil is taking a tougher stand against corruption, which bodes well for its economic prospects.