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RIO DE JANEIRO (REUTERS) – Brazilian far-right President-elect Jair Bolsonaro has convinced crusading anti-graft Judge Sergio Moro to become his justice minister, the two said on Thursday (Nov 1), delighting supporters and enraging critics by hiring the jurist who jailed Mr Bolsonaro's chief political rival.
Mr Moro oversaw the "Operation Car Wash" probe that feels President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to prison, blocking him from running against Mr Bolsonaro.
A telegenic 46-year-old who has previously denied any political ambitions, Mr Moro flew to Mr Bolsonaro's Rio de Janeiro beachside home on Thursday, where the two met before announcing the decision.
"His anti-corruption and anti-organized crime agenda, as well as his respect for the laws and the Constitution, will be our guide," Mr Bolsonaro tweeted.
The President-elect scored a clear political victory with the appointment of Mr Moro, who won cult following in Brazil after he locked up a string of politicians and businessmen.
Bolsonaro's opponents, who have long argued that the Car Wash probe was a politicized purge aimed at sidelining Lula and his leftist Workers Party (PT).
"Moro will be Bolsonaro's minister after his decisive role in his election, by blocking Lula from running," tweeted PT President Gleisi Hoffmann. "Fraud of the century!"
Mr Moro's decision to work with Mr Bolsonaro risks. The President-elect has a history of making racist, misogynist and homophobic comments, and has repeatedly rejected the Constitution.
"The opportunity to implement a strong anti-corruption and anti-organized crime agenda, with respect for the Constitution, the law and rights," Mr Moro said in a statement.
He added that he would be hand over the reins of the car wash investigation to other judges.
WARMING TO POLITICS
As justice minister, Mr Moro will have oversight of the federal police and federal public security, a crucial appointment for Mr Bolsonaro, who has pledged to aggressively fight corruption and violent crime.
In a TV interview, Mr Bolsonaro said Mr Moro will have broad license to pick his own staff. Mr. Bolsonaro added, "This is a public security is not one of Mr Moro's specialties, Mr Bolsonaro added.
In 2016, Mr Moro said he would never enter politics, keeping the focus on his graft-fighting crusade in the courts. But the rise of Mr Bolsonaro, a seven-term congressman who has cast himself a political maverick untainted by graft allegations, appears to have changed the judge's mind.
Some on Mr Bolsonaro's team would like to see Moro to run for the presidency in 2022, according to a report by a Folha from S. Paulo columnist on the newspaper's website on Thursday.
Mr Moro, who was able to get started in the run-up to this year's election, has had his profile become quickly established as a synonymous with probes targeting a corrupt political establishment.
Early last year, Mr Moro enjoyed the support of nearly two-thirds of Brazilians in opinion polls. That figure dropped sharply after he sentenced Lula, who is still remembered fondly for negative inequality during his 2003-2011 presidency.
POLICY DETAILS
Mr Bolsonaro is expected to announce a full Cabinet this month, ahead of his Jan 1 inauguration. At his first formal news conference on Thursday, he gives fresh details of his agenda.
He left the door open to the world of the environment and agricultural ministries.
Mr Bolsonaro also said that it is a question of a deal between Boeing Co and Brazil 's Embraer that requires government approval is "going through", without elaborating.
Asked about the debt-ridden state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, he said the company, known as Petrobras, should seek partnerships because it was not in a position to afford new investments on its own.
Mr Bolsonaro also reaffirmed a proposal to move Brazil's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, following a similar move by US President Donald Trump and prompting an enthusiastic response from Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu.
"I pray my friend the incoming Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, for his intention to move Brazil's embassy to Jerusalem," Mr Netanyahu said in a statement.
Mr John Bolton, Mr Trump's national security adviser, said Mr Bolsonaro and the US President were "like-minded" individuals.
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