Bolsonaro says that the Lava Jato operation ‘ended’ because the government ‘no longer has corruption’ | Politics

Bolsonaro gave the statement at an event on measures for civil aviation, at the Planalto Palace, while praising the management itself, in which, according to him, people are trustworthy and there is no interest in “making it difficult to sell facilities. “.

“I do not know a lobby that makes it difficult to sell easily. It does not exist. It is a pride, it is a satisfaction that I have, to tell this wonderful press that I do not want to end Lava Jato. I finished with Lava Jato, why is there no more corruption in the government, I know that this is not a virtue, it is an obligation, “he said.

Bolsonaro then said that this “absence of corruption” would not be a virtue, but an obligation. The president also defended his own nominations for public office.

“I know this is not a virtue, it is an obligation, but we do an open-hearted government. When I refer someone anywhere, I know that he is a good person, considering the amount of criticism he receives to a large extent.” part of the media ”, he declared.

During the presidential campaign, Jair Bolsonaro made several public praises to Lava Jato and even appointed then-judge Sergio Moro – who worked in Curitiba in the proceedings of the operation – as Minister of Justice and Public Security.

In April of this year, however, Moro broke with the government and resigned. In announcing his departure, he said that Bolsonaro had tried to interfere politically in the autonomy of the Federal Police, the corporation in charge of operations like Lava Jato.

This alleged interference, Moro said, included the replacement of the CEO of PF, the corporation’s top position. Bolsonaro denied these attempts and an investigation was opened in the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to know the statements of both.

The working groups of Operation Lava Jato are headed by the Federal Public Ministry (MPF), an independent body that is not subordinate to the federal government. The current head of the MP is the Attorney General of the Republic, Augusto Aras, appointed by Bolsonaro in 2019.

In September this year, the PGR authorized the extension of the Lava Jato working group in Paraná until January 2021 – the researchers had asked for more time. Another task force, based in São Paulo, was closed at the end of the same month after an internal dispute between prosecutors.

This Wednesday, the Federal Police launched a new phase of Lava Jato, 76 since the beginning of the operation. The arrest warrants refer to alleged corruption at Petrobras between 2009 and 2018.

In August, the son of Jair Bolsonaro and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (Republicans-RJ) criticized the Lava Jato operation in an interview with the newspaper “O Globo.”

The parliamentarian defended the actions of Augusto Aras, who also criticized Lava Jato and even spoke of the need to “correct directions.”

“[Augusto] Aras [procurador-geral da República] has done a job of making the law work for everyone. Although I do not believe that the Car Wash is that homogeneous body, I consider that from time to time there are people interested politically or economically. If there were a dismantling of the investigations in Brazil, we would not be witnessing all this number of operations, ”said Flávio.