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The judge, who is the most important face of Brazil's anti-corruption campaign, denied Tuesday that his appointment to the post of justice minister was a reward for condemning and condemning a political rival of his new boss.
"This has nothing to do with the case of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva," Judge Sergio Moro told reporters at his first press conference since his acceptance of the candidacy . "I know some have interpreted my nomination as a reward, but it is not."
Moro is both celebrated and hated in Brazil for his role in the "Car Wash" investigation, which has jailed dozens of business leaders and politicians who have been involved in maneuvers to exchange public contracts and favors of pots wine and bribes.
The most prominent is da Silva, whose conviction prevented him from running for another term this year, paving the way for the victory of President-elect Jair Bolsonaro.
Many attribute to the judge who ends the sentence to end a culture of impunity, but others believe that the investigation is too focused on the left-wing labor party of da Silva, while paying less attention to right-wing politicians.
These complaints have multiplied since Moro accepted a position in the office of President-elect Jair Bolsonaro. Da Silva's lawyers have already appealed, saying the appointment proves the judge's bias.
Moro said that he had no intention of running for election and that his work at the ministry would be "technical".
Moro has sometimes defended Bolsonaro, claiming that some of the extreme remarks of the far right politician had been taken out of context, but he also said that the two disagreements on certain points, such Bolsonaro's statement that people occupying land in protest should be considered terrorists.
Moro has gained national prominence in fighting white corruption, but as head of the Justice and Public Safety Ministries he will face a potentially more difficult problem: a scourge of violent crime, often fueled by gangs of drug traffickers. Last year, nearly 64,000 people were killed in Brazil, a record for the country, which has long been the world leader in annual homicides.
Moro told the press that he would use some of the tools used at Car Wash to fight organized crime, including the use of working groups to investigate crimes, stating that New York had been successful in its fight against the Mafia.
Unlike Bolsonaro, whose crime rhetoric often focuses on the use of police force, Moro spoke of improving the collection of data, the use of technology and the the imprisonment and isolation of gang leaders to fight organized crime.
"A good police operation is when no one gets hurt, the criminal goes to jail and the policeman goes home," he said.
He also pledged to implement measures to help fight corruption and said that if wrongdoing were found in the administration of Bolsonaro, the judicial system would pursue it.
Critics worry that Bolsonaro's praise of the military dictatorship and torture, his often violent speech about crime, and his repugnant remarks about women, blacks, and homosexuals point to policies that will roll back civil rights. The president-elect himself evoked these fears obliquely Tuesday at a ceremony celebrating the 30th anniversary of the constitution of Brazil, saying that this document was the "true north" of democracy.
Moro has also responded to these concerns, saying that everything he does would be based on law and rights.
"There is no possibility that there is a policy of discrimination against minorities," he said.
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