ADVERTISEMENT

Brazil's Right Rallies Round Struggling Anti-Corruption Icon

Brazil's Right Rallies Round Struggling Anti-Corruption Icon

(Bloomberg) -- Tens of thousands of Brazilians are due to take to the streets once again Sunday, now in defense of Sergio Moro, the celebrity justice minister coming under fire for his actions as a federal judge.

Organized by the anti-corruption movement “Vem Pra Rua,” Portuguese for “come to the street,” the demonstrations are intended as a show of support for the government’s pension reform, anti-crime measures and Operation Carwash, the corruption investigation previously overseen by Moro. Both the fairness of the probe and Moro’s impartially are under scrutiny following the publication of private text messages between the then-judge and prosecutors.

Brazil's Right Rallies Round Struggling Anti-Corruption Icon

“It’s all smoke and no fire,” Adelaide Oliveira, the spokeswoman for Vem Pra Rua, said. “It doesn’t affect Carwash in any way, or Moro’s reputation."

Since June 2013, mass protests have become commonplace in Brazil, with both sides of the country’s increasingly polarized electorate looking to demonstrate their popular appeal in the streets. With a poll out this week showing a decline in government support amid a deteriorating economic outlook, stubbornly high unemployment and numerous controversies of its own making, Sunday’s protests will indicate to what extent President Jair Bolsonaro can continue to mobilize his base.

Deepening Divisions

Moro, the man who jailed former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, ruling him out of last year’s election, enjoys hero-status on the right, while the left has long viewed him with suspicion. Those divisions have deepened in recent weeks following a steady drip of revelations by The Intercept website showing Moro appeared to guide prosecutors as to how to secure a conviction in the Lula case. Moro insists he did nothing wrong.

Brazil's Right Rallies Round Struggling Anti-Corruption Icon

“For that third of the population who distrusted him, his image has worsened,” Thomas Traumann, a political consultant and former presidential adviser, said. “For another third, he continues to be a major hero and he did what he had to do to tackle corruption. For the other third who aren’t at the extremes, Moro may have overstepped the line, but it was still acceptable.”

However, a poll by the Atlas Politico consultancy published this week showed Moro’s approval rating slid by 10 percentage points in the wake of the reports, though just over 50% of respondents said they still had a favorable image of the minister.

‘Ends Justified the Means’

Initially, Bolsonaro was slow to rush to Moro’s defense, though he has since described him as a “national treasure.” Given Moro’s wild popularity among many Bolsonaro supporters, who frequently brandished inflatable “Super-Moro” dolls at his rallies, it’s perhaps not bad news for the president that a potential rival in his cabinet should lose some of his luster.

“The episode benefits Bolsonaro to the extent that Moro had even greater stature than the president,” Traumann said. “From the moment his credibility was affected, Bolsonaro gained."

Brazil's Right Rallies Round Struggling Anti-Corruption Icon

The poll published this week showed an increase in dissatisfaction with the Bolsonaro administration: 51% of respondents said they did not trust the president, up from 45% in April. At the same time, the president retains a solid base of support, with 32% describing his government as good or great.

For many of his voters, the revelations about Moro were significant only in that they reinforced their hatred of the Workers’ Party, or PT, and their fear that corruption convictions -- including Lula’s -- could be overturned.

“The messages really did make me think again,” said Sibelli Marcolina, a lawyer from the southern state of Parana who plans to attend the marches this weekend. “But, I think freeing the gang who robbed Brazil is the more relevant issue here. In this case, the ends justified the means.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Simone Iglesias in Brasília at spiglesias@bloomberg.net;Bruce Douglas in Brasilia Newsroom at bdouglas24@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, Walter Brandimarte, Robert Jameson

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.