Admar Gonzaga

Admar Gonzaga spent most of his career behind the scenes of Brazilian politics, as a lawyer for political parties and campaigns, before becoming one of the judges on the country's Superior Electoral Court, the body that oversees Brazil's elections. In 2017 he cast one of the votes in the most consequential case the court had heard in years: a request to annul the 2014 election victory of the ticket of Dilma Rousseff and Michel Temer. He voted to acquit, and the court narrowly decided to keep Temer in office.

He was born Admar Gonzaga Neto on July 25, 1960, in Rio de Janeiro, in the afternoon, at the hour preserved in astrological records. His Sun is in early Leo, with Venus also in Leo, both in the eighth house, which concerns power, shared resources and the hidden mechanics behind institutions. Leo is proud and authoritative, and the eighth house is where influence operates out of public view. A Leo Sun in the eighth describes someone whose authority grows through behind-the-scenes work, and Gonzaga built his reputation advising parties and candidates rather than running for office himself.

His Moon is in late Leo in the ninth house, alongside Uranus. The ninth house is the domain of law, courts and higher principles, and a Leo Moon there describes emotional investment in legal and judicial work. Gonzaga studied law in Brasília and made electoral law his specialty.

Mercury, retrograde in Cancer, occupies the seventh house, which rules contracts, clients and opponents. Mercury there describes a mind used on behalf of others, the essence of legal representation. Over his career he advised a range of parties, including the PFL and its successor, the Democrats, and worked on presidential campaigns.

Saturn, retrograde in Capricorn, sits in his first house. Saturn there is associated with seriousness, institutional authority and a reserved manner. From 2013 he served as a substitute judge on the Superior Electoral Court, and from 2017 to 2019 as a full member.

Mars in Taurus lies in his fifth house, and Jupiter, retrograde in Sagittarius, falls in his twelfth, a placement associated with private difficulties. In late 2017 Gonzaga was accused of domestic violence by his then-wife; he denied the allegations and was later acquitted by a Brasília court in 2021. The controversy ended his bid to remain on the electoral court.

After leaving the court, he advised President Jair Bolsonaro in 2019 on the creation of a new political party. His son, Henrique Zaga, is an actor.

Neptune in Scorpio sits in his eleventh house of networks and alliances, and Pluto in Virgo lies in his ninth, adding intensity to his engagement with law and procedure. The Leo Sun in the eighth house made him a power behind the scenes; the ninth-house Moon tied his career to the law.