Majority of Brazilians Object to Carwash Judge’s Actions: Folha

(Bloomberg) -- A majority of Brazilians say Justice Minister Sergio Moro acted “inappropriately” in his role as a judge overseeing the so-called Carwash corruption probe, according to a survey by Datafolha published by Folha de S. Paulo.

The poll showed 58% disapproved of the private conversations he allegedly carried out with prosecutors during the investigation, and 59% said his decisions should now be reviewed.

As the judge in charge of the Carwash probe, he imprisoned former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for corruption and money-laundering, effectively banning him from last year’s election. Moro has long been lionized by the Brazilian right and loathed by the left. His decision to accept the position of justice minister in the government of President Jair Bolsonaro entrenched those opinions.

Lula’s appeal against his conviction has received a boost since leaked messages released by The Intercept website allegedly showed Moro sharing information and giving advice to prosecutors working on the case against the former president. Moro has questioned the authenticity of the messages and denied that the published material shows any indication of bias. He has said he did nothing wrong and retains the public support of the president.

Despite the blow to his reputation, 55% of Brazilians think Moro should stay in his job. While 54% of those surveyed say despite doubts raised by Moro’s conduct, Lula’s imprisonment on charges of corruption and money laundering should stand.

The Datafolha opinion poll of 2,086 respondents was carried out July 4-5 with an error margin of 2 percentage points.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bruce Douglas in Brasilia Newsroom at bdouglas24@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, Linus Chua, Steve Geimann

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