How Sergio Moro went from national hero to legal pariah

Exactly one year ago today, Brazil’s then-Justice Minister Sergio Moro sent shockwaves through the Brazilian political establishment. After days of public spats with President Jair Bolsonaro over control of the Federal Police, Mr. Moro called a press conference to announce his resignation and explain the reasons behind his decision.

The exiting minister alleged that Mr. Bolsonaro had tried, on numerous occasions, to interfere with federal probes and illegally obtain police reports of sealed investigations into members of his entourage.

“The president clearly told me, more than once, that he wanted someone of personal confidence. Someone he could call and get information from — to receive intelligence briefings. […] And that’s really not the role of the Federal Police,” Mr. Moro told reporters, as the press cameras snapped noisily, capturing his every move.

At that moment, it seemed as if Mr. Moro’s abrupt departure from the government could ignite a crisis too big for Mr. Bolsonaro to overcome. The pandemic was starting to take a greater number of victims, economic expectations were dwindling fast, and the administration was grappling with the acrimonious recent firing of the Health Minister. 

Moreover, a video recording of a now-infamous cabinet meeting on April 22, 2020, offered the public a damning and explicit display of Bolsonarism in action. The president defended arming citizens to allow them to forcibly challenge lockdown-like measures enacted by state governments, while his Environment Minister pushed for scrapping environmental regulations as the press was distracted, focusing on the pandemic.

It seemed as if Mr. Bolsonaro was fighting on...