Live
Audio Only
"Moro is the man of the United States, he is the United States candidate for 2022. He did all the work," the Portuguese sociologist said.
Brazil’s former Justice Minister Sergio Moro is the candidate the United States (U.S.) has chosen for Brazil’s 2022 presidential election, Portuguese sociologist and left-wing thinker Boaventura de Sousa said in an interview published Friday by Free Journalists.
RELATED:
"Moro is the man of the United States, he is the United States candidate for 2022. He did all the work," the Portuguese professor said.
"And his political career is exactly this – destroying the Brazilian economy, destroying the left, opening the way for a transitional politician, who obviously opens the way for himself, he is their candidate. This means that the United States Embassy itself must probably be involved in all of this. This means that Moro began to see, for his political career, Bolsonaro is no longer a resource, he can be discarded," de Sousa estimated.
One of President Jair Bolsonaro’s most powerful ministers, Moro resigned late last week, plunging Brazil’s government into a political turmoil. The move sparked protests and calls for the president’s impeachment, as well as an inquiry into Moro’s claims that Bolsonaro interfered with the federal police.
It’s not clear why Bolsonaro wanted to replace Mauricio Valeixo, the head of the country’s federal police. Some claim that it was in part because of a federal police investigation into fake news attacks on the Congress and supreme court implicating the president’s son.
The Brazilian head of state denied the claims against him.
Moro’s accusations and resignation came just a week after Bolsonaro fired his popular health minister amid the coronavirus crisis. All these recent events have left many wondering how long the embattled president could remain in power.
"Moro is signaling that he no longer wants to participate in this government, precisely because he wants to do well. His popularity is above Bolsonaro’s," de Sousa explained.
"Bolsonaro for him (Moro) today is more of a burden than a resource. You don’t need him to be a good candidate, a strong candidate for 2022,” the sociologist added.
Before he was appointed justice Minister, Moro was the judge who led the “Lava Jato” (Car Wash) corruption investigation and jailed former president Luiz Lula da Silva, removing Bolsonaro’s main rival in the 2018 election.
He has remained popular among conservatives in the South American country even when his role in the corruption probe was discredited by leaked documents that showed that he had been biased and acted improperly.
Newsletter
