Former Justice Minister Moro comes to Brazil for meetings to define his political future

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The ex-minister of Justice’s arrival in the country (he is now living in the U.S. capital Washington DC) encouraged allies and is viewed as a sign that he intends to run in the 2022 elections.

However, the question for supporters is whether he will be willing to run for the Presidency or if he will try for a seat in the Senate. In this case, he could run in either Paraná or São Paulo states.

Moro is expected to meet with representatives of the Podemos party in the coming weeks. His time in Brazil also includes family agendas, such as visiting his mother in Maringá, in the interior of Paraná.

He is expected to make a decision by the end of October. The deadline coincides with the moment in which he will have to re-discuss his contract with Alvarez & Marsal, the consulting firm he has been working for since late last year.

Moro left the government in April last year, accusing President Jair Bolsonaro of attempting to politically interfere in the Federal Police to prevent investigations against relatives and friends.

Despite having passed the so-called anti-crime package in Congress, the ex-judge left public life frustrated for not having managed to get other issues off the ground, such as guaranteeing imprisonment after a sentence is affirmed by an appellate court.

Podemos leaders believe that Moro would be a competitive name for the presidency and could embody the “third way” role to challenge both Bolsonaro and ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT),the prime object of the Lava-Jato investigations.