November 1, 2018
Federal Judge Sergio Moro on Thursday morning accepted the invitation of the far-right President-elect Jair Bolsonaro (PSL) to lead the so-called Superministry of Justice. The magistrate is still to disclose details of the terms of the proposal he accepted.
The idea proposed by Bolsonaro is that the Ministry of Justice will have the responsibility of taking care of Public Security as well. In this sense, Moro will also command the Federal Police, today subordinated to the recently created Ministry of Public Security.
Meanwhile, in Brazil de Fato’s interview on Wednesday former Justice Minister Eugenio Aragão harshly criticized the magistrate. Aragão points out that the same judge who condemned former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), disqualifying his participation in an electoral process in which he was the favorite to win in the first round, is the one who will now occupy the position of Minister of Justice of Jair Bolsonaro as of January 1, 2019.
“That confirms everything we’ve said so far, that he wasn’t really a judge. He was a big ego advancing his personal career, cultivating his vanity and he really got where he wanted to go,” Aragão said.
Cláudia Maria Barbosa, professor of Constitutional Law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (PUC-PR), had also warned that, after taking office, Moro’s abuses will not be treated in the same way as they were in the judiciary.
“The occupation, by the judge, of the Ministry of Justice, exposes the illegal politicization of the Judicial Branch, and that is already a signal for the population and the press itself to be aware. On the other hand, the Ministry of Justice is not the Judicial Branch. Therefore, the guarantees of immunity that Sergio Moro, as a judge, had when he committed excesses and abuses, he would not have within the Ministry of Justice, in the end it is a position of free appointment, but also of free removal.”
Aragão recalls several controversial cases in which Judge Moro used his powers to persecute Lula and his relatives.
“From an ethical point of view, this is regrettable. From the point of view of the history of Mr. Moro, in truth, what happened proves that crime pays. What he has done throughout the process of Operation Lava Jato in relation to Lula and his family was criminal. He opened testimonies that he broke illegally, outside the authorized period, publicized particular conversations between Lula’s wife and her son. Moro was everything but a judge. He was more executioner than judge. And finally when it comes to this challenge, Moro doesn’t measure up. He is a small minded being, who only proves the smallness of the government he is going to serve.
The former minister affirms that Moro’s acceptance of the position can serve as another argument of suspicion on the legality of the judge to judge the processes related to ex-president Lula. The final decision on that will be up to the superior courts, which so far have not assumed their responsibility.
“Here, once again, we would have an argument to suspect Sergio Moro. Several arguments of suspicion have already been put forward. All of them flagrant, because of the opinions he gave publicly, because of the way he proceeded. We can even argue, but it remains to be seen if the Judicial Branch is going to assume its responsibility. Unfortunately, so far it has not done so.
With the acceptance of the position, Sergio Moro will have to abandon his career in the judiciary, a precondition established by law. We will see how this all plays out.
Source: Brasil de Fato