[H-PAD] Urgent Action: Sérgio Moro Is Not Above the Law
Marc Becker
marc at yachana.org
Wed May 13 17:11:14 PDT 2020
Dear Members and Supporters of H-PAD,
Please consider signing the statement below that James Green who teaches
Latin American history at Brown University is circulating as part of the
US Network for Democracy in Brazil. To do so, send your name and
affiliation to James_Green at brown.edu.
Thanks,
Marc Becker
Professor of History
Truman State University
*No One, Not Even Sérgio Moro, Is Above the Law*
Dear Friends of Brazil:
The US Network for Democracy in Brazil is circulating the statement
below on the recent situation in Brazil, focusing on the ways in which
Sérgio Moro, with the support of the mainstream media in Brazil, is
crafting an image as being an intransigent defender of democracy.
We plan to circulate it widely among Brazil specialists *in the United
States and Europe*, as well as among Brazilians living abroad and
Friends of Brazil, for their support and signatures. We will then
disseminate it to the Brazilian press and U.S. and European outlets.
If you would like to sign the statement, please send me your *name and
affiliation (*for identification purposes only).
*_Example:_*
James N. Green, Brown University
Fulana de Tal, The Brazil Democracy Collective
Fulano de Tal, independent artist
*If you are willing to sign, please send an email with your complete
name and affiliation to: **James_Green at brown.edu
<mailto:James_Green at brown.edu>*
A luta continua,
James N. Green
Gladys Mitchell-Walthour
National Co-Coordinators, US Network for Democracy in Brazil
*No One, Not Even Sérgio Moro, Is Above the Law*
Brazil is currently going through a devastating public health crisis as
infections and deaths from Covid 19 increase daily at an alarming rate.
The disastrous response by President Jair Bolsonaro to the pandemic has
alarmed Brazilians and foreigners alike. In the midst of this critical
situation, on April 24, 2020, Minister of Justice Sérgio Moro resigned
from his office, accusing Bolsonaro of political influence in Brazil’s
federal police.
In making this charge against President Bolsonaro, Moro seeks to present
himself as a guardian of the rule of law and democracy in Brazil. Much
of mainstream media has echoed this portrayal. We, the undersigned
scholars of Brazil and Brazilians living abroad, believe that this image
does not correspond to Moro’s record.
As the judge of the Operation Car Wash, Sérgio Moro violated fundamental
rules of Brazilian due process, acting as a party to the procedure and
not as an impartial judge. Private messages published by the Intercept
Brazil
<https://democracybrazil.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=516db067f0bfd21b52864f3d4&id=4428b9496a&e=062cdf78bb> revealed
that Moro guided the work of the prosecutors, especially against former
President Lula da Silva. Moro also violated President Rousseff's
privacy, amongst other serious infractions. This
politically-oriented behavior had a direct impact on the 2018
presidential election and cleared the way for Bolsonaro’s victory.
During his term as justice minister, Sérgio Moro never showed any
disagreement with Bolsonaro’s far-right agenda. Moro proposed a legal
reform of the criminal code that violated several constitutional
guarantees
<https://democracybrazil.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=516db067f0bfd21b52864f3d4&id=ccdb8f7abb&e=062cdf78bb>.
Despite his legal powers, he did not prevent the increasing violence
against indigenous and traditional peoples
<https://democracybrazil.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=516db067f0bfd21b52864f3d4&id=83c5b37e6c&e=062cdf78bb> and
illegal invasions of their territories. He did nothing to curtail
illegal arm sales that go into the hands of para-military militias. The
minister also refused to adopt any measures to protect journalists and
the freedom of expression in Brazil.
<https://democracybrazil.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=516db067f0bfd21b52864f3d4&id=5f96792cf9&e=062cdf78bb>
For sixteen months, Moro never criticized Bolsonaro’s constant attacks
on democracy, nor did he show any discomfort with the president’s
previous attempts to interfere with criminal investigations
<https://democracybrazil.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=516db067f0bfd21b52864f3d4&id=171f5e6986&e=062cdf78bb>. On
the contrary, he was the Justice Minister who requested more
investigations to protect Bolsonaro than others had done to protect
previous presidents
<https://democracybrazil.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=516db067f0bfd21b52864f3d4&id=a76a9e63e1&e=062cdf78bb>. In
responding to Moro’s accusations, Bolsonaro declared that his former
minister proposed to stay in office in exchange for a future appointment
to the Federal Supreme Court. These mutual charges led the Chief of the
Federal Prosecution Office to open an investigation into Moro’s
allegations and a group of lawyers to denounce Sérgio Moro to the Public
Ethics Commission for his presumptive /quid pro quo/with the president.
Although Moro leveled strong and relevant criticisms against Bolsonaro
in his renunciation speech, these do not erase the ways he violated due
process in the Car Wash investigation nor his complicity with official
government policies while he was a member of the Bolsonaro administration.
Brazil is facing a very serious health crisis combined with political
and economic turmoil. Even so, for the sake of democracy, Sérgio Moro
must be held accountable for his past actions. No one is above the law.
*James N. Green, Brown
University<https://democracybrazil.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=516db067f0bfd21b52864f3d4&id=2157a3de75&e=062cdf78bb>**[*]*
*Gladys Mitchell-Walthour, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee^* *
*National Co-Coordinators, U.S. Network for Democracy in Brazil*
*_Initial Sponsors:_*
Alexander Main, Center for Economic and Policy Research
Aline Cristiane Piva, Washington Brazil Office Advisory Board
Alvaro Jarrin, College of the Holy Cross
Ana Alakija, International Press Committee (IPC)
Barbara Weinstein, New York University
Ben Cowan, University of California, San Diego
Brown University Committee for Democracy in Brazil
Defend Democracy in Brazil Committee/New York
Erika Robb Larkins, San Diego State University
Fernanda R. Rosa, University of Pennsylvania
George A. Judice, University of Miami
International Press Committee (IPC)
Jeffrey W. Rubin, Boston University
Joel Wolfe, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Juliana Moraes, Executive Director, Washington Brazil Office
Krista Brune, Pennsylvania State University
Kristal Bivona, University of California, Los Angeles
Leandro Benmergui, Purchase College
Leonel Lima Ponce, Pratt Institute
Miami Network for Democracy in Brazil
Marc Becker, Truman State University
Marina Adams, National Organizer, US Network for Democracy in Brazil
Mauricio Acuña, Princeton University
Maxine L. Margolis, University of Florida
Myriam Marques, Defend Democracy in Brazil Committee/New York
Natalia de Campos, Defend Democracy in Brazil Committee/New York
Nathaniel Wolfson, University of California, Berkeley
Pedro Meira Monteiro, Princeton University
Rafael Ioris, University of Denver
Rede Defend Democracy (Brazil)
Roger Kittleson, Williams College
Roni Wine, Brown University
Sean T. Mitchell, Rutgers University-Newark
Sidney Chalhoub, Harvard Univerity
Stanley A. Gacek, Esquire, U.S. labor attorney, District of Columbia Bar
Association
Steven F. Butterman, University of Miami
Sueann Caulfield, University of Michigan
Tracy Devine Guzmán, University of Miami
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[*]
<https://democracybrazil.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=516db067f0bfd21b52864f3d4&id=d4cd07e905&e=062cdf78bb> Affiliation
for identification purposes only
Twitter
<https://democracybrazil.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=516db067f0bfd21b52864f3d4&id=d30eb465b6&e=062cdf78bb>
Facebook
<https://democracybrazil.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=516db067f0bfd21b52864f3d4&id=0c9b059d7e&e=062cdf78bb>
Website
Email <mailto:democracybrazil at gmail.com>
Instagram
<https://democracybrazil.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=516db067f0bfd21b52864f3d4&id=cb3cc7f9e9&e=062cdf78bb>
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