RIO DE JANEIRO, Apr 29 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) – The Brazilian government announced the appointment of Andre Mendonca, as the country’s new minister of justice and public security, and Alexandre Ramagem, as the new head of the Federal Police.
The announcement was made in Tuesday’s edition of the Official Journal, which publishes all government decrees.
Mendonca previously served as Attorney General, a position he held since the beginning of the Bolsonaro administration. In addition to his legal career, Mendonca is also an ordained Presbyterian minister.
The previous justice minister, Sergio Moro, left the government on Friday, over disagreements with President Jair Bolsonaro, over the changing of the leadership of the Federal Police. He accused the president of trying to interfere in confidential Federal Police investigations, to protect his allies.
Bolsonaro denied Moro’s accusations and accused the former minister of demanding a nomination to the Supreme Court, in exchange for changing the head of the Federal Police. On Monday evening, the Supreme Court authorised investigations into both Moro’s and Bolsonaro’s accusations.
The choice of Alexandre Ramagem to head the Federal Police, has been widely regarded as potentially problematic, given his close ties to the president’s family. Ramagem was Bolsonaro’s chief of security, during part of his presidential campaign and is a longtime friend of the president’s sons, who are also politicians.
Earlier in the day, opposition federal deputy, Marcelo Freixo, filed an action to prevent Ramagem from taking office until the end of the investigations into Moro’s accusations against the president.
