Good morning! Today, we talk about a crisis hitting the new justice minister — who is barely in the door. How upped security spending doesn’t necessarily mean lower crime rates. And how Jair Bolsonaro prepared for a coup.
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Prison break a bad start for new justice minister
Hardly settled in the justice minister’s chair, Ricardo Lewandowski faces his first crisis: two inmates (both members of the Red Command criminal organization) escaped from a maximum security prison in the northeastern state of Rio Grande do Norte — the first-ever escape from such a facility in Brazil.
👉 Why it matters. Mr. Lewandowski took office already under pressure — as Brazilian voters are gripped by concerns about crime and disorder. The prison break forces him to deal with a crisis from the get-go.
Reaction. The justice minister suspended the prison’s top officials and will place the facility under federal intervention. He has also ordered all federal prisons to re-evaluate their security apparatus. More than 100 federal agents are working to recapture the criminals at large.
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