Politics Serious Discussion - Getting out edition Bernd 04/24/2020 (Fri) 17:54:06 No.36217 del
Justice Minister Moro resigned. He is immensely popular and was doing a good job. There have been high-profile arrests and in 2019 the number of murders dropped by 10 thousand compared to the previous year, a decrease of a fifth. This is a result of many factors: in the Northeast cooperation among cartels reduced violence, but the reduction happpened in other states. Legislation wasn't a factor as there was next to no real change in this regard. He retains much prestige despite the scandal with his leaks, eternal hate from the left due to being Lula's nemesis and repeated disempowerment of the anti-corruption struggle by Congress and the Supreme Court.
What caused this was Bolsonaro's elimination of Federal Police director Maurício Valeixo, who had been picked by Moro. In his final address he noted that:
-There was no legitimate reason for this as he had been effective in his post
-This was a violation of the promise Bolsonaro made upon naming him Minister, that he'd have freedom to handle subordinates
-Bolsonaro also intends to replace a subordinate of the director, the Rio de Janeiro superintendent, and possibly other superintendents, which goes against his spirit of giving autonomy to subordinates
-A replacement now would create confusion and harm the Federal Police's functioning
-Bolsonaro personally told him this was a political choice

Why political? He did not say this straight, but what everyone says is that it was to protect Bolsonaro's sons from investigation, and hence why the Rio de Janeiro superintendent is also involved. Their corruption accusations are petty for Brazilian standards but what's bigger are accusations they might be tied to militias. As always Bolsonaro's sons are his priority. This behavior doesn't come out of nowhere as he has few contacts in Brasília, having lived his career in the sidelines, and many reasons to be distrustful. Moro isn't someone he has a reason to distrust but his sons still came first.