Brazil’s New Leader Picks Anticorruption Judge as Justice Minister Choice of Sergio Moro signals crackdown on graft but fuels criticism of the judiciary By Samantha Pearson and Luciana Magalhaes
https://www.wsj.com/articles/judge-who-oversaw-corruption-probe-to-be-named-brazils-justice-minister-1541083888?mod=cx_picks&cx_navSource=cx_picks&cx_tag=undefined&cx_artPos=4#cxrecs_s
Brazil’s President-elect Jair Bolsonaro picked the country’s crusading anticorruption judge to be justice minister, signaling that Latin America’s largest nation will step up its battle against endemic graft but fueling criticism of the judiciary among his opponents.
Mr. Bolsonaro said Thursday that Sergio Moro had accepted his invitation to head a beefed-up version of the justice ministry from January 1, which will also give Mr. Moro control over the country’s efforts to combat spiraling violence that saw nearly 64,000 people slain last year.
“His agenda against corruption and organized crime, as well as his respect for the Constitution and the law, will be our guiding principle,” Mr. Bolsonaro said on Twitter.
In a note sent by the Bolsonaro transition team, Mr. Moro was quoted as saying that his appointment means “consolidating the advances of the past few years against crime and corruption and reducing the risks of going backwards,” and adding that he made the decision for “the greater good.”
The appointment of the widely-respected judge as minister is considered by legal experts to be a stamp of approval for the future government of Mr. Bolsonaro, who swept to victory Sunday with his promise to restore law and order.
But the move has also fueled criticism of partisanship in the country’s vast Car Wash corruption investigation that Mr. Moro helped lead, adding weight to accusations by the leftist Workers’ Party that the operation was part of a soft coup by the right to seize power. CONTINUE AT SITE
Comments are closed.
