Bolsonaro's new justice minister to name Brazil federal police chiefs, source says

Last year, before leaving the government, former Justice Minister Sergio Moro said Bolsonaro had been seeking to change the federal police chief since 2019 for personal and political reasons.

Brazil's new justice minister is due to change the head of the federal police and federal highway police with the backing of President Jair Bolsonaro, a government official told Reuters.

Named last week as part of Bolsonaro's largest Cabinet shakeup to date, Justice Minister Anderson Torres is due to replace federal police chief Rolando de Souza and Eduardo Aggio, the head of Brazil's federal highway cops, the source said. Torres, himself a federal police officer, is close to the Bolsonaro family. Critics fear his appointment will allow the president to have undue control over federal police probes into his family and supporters.

Critics also warn he could help Bolsonaro increase his support among state police forces, who some view as an unpredicatble element in next year's fraught presidential vote. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been announced, said the changes are part of a normal process when a new minister takes office and seeks to appoint his allies to key roles. The source said Bolsonaro gave Torres freedom to pick his own names, but said the president will review and approve his choices.

"Changes are natural. We know that all the changes you will make in your ministry are to better arrange it for its objective. You want the Ministry of Justice as focused as possible for the good of everyone in our country," Bolsonaro said at a swearing-in ceremony for Torres on Tuesday. Bolsonaro has already been accused of trying to meddle in the independence of the federal police. Last year, before leaving the government, former Justice Minister Sergio Moro said Bolsonaro had been seeking to change the federal police chief since 2019 for personal and political reasons.