No one can hold monopoly on morality, says Justice Minister

Addressing at the ceremony to take over the post, Justice Minister Eugênio Aragão said no one in the country hold a monopoly on truth, nor a monopoly on the country's salvation. In this sense, the new minister pointed out that the government's role will be to ensure that the federal institutions implement equality before the law.

Aragão's statement was made a day after judge Sérgio Moro released tapped calls between former President Lula and several state officials—including President Dilma Rousseff.

"Here [in the Ministry of Justice] we will try to rebuild bridges. The most important is to restore this threadbare fabric of otherness, because otherness is a precondition for our coexistence," he said in his speech.

Morality

"Now, the precondition for any dialogue is a horizontal treatment; talk as equals. We all want the best for the country. But there is no one in this country with a monopoly on morality, nor a monopoly on the country's salvation," he added.

According to Aragão, among the ministry's duties in the government, there is the need to ensure that federal institutions implement equality before the law.

Tapped calls

Asked about the recordings of tapped telephone conversations in which President Dilma and former President Lula established details about his appointment document, Aragão said he has "no doubt" about the fact. "The conversation was very clear: former President Lula's wife was ill [the reason for which he could not attend the ceremony to be sworn in]. You have seen that Minister Jaques Wagner [now head of the president's personal office] took office, even though he did not attend the ceremony. Thus, the position [chief of staff] became vacant, and, at a moment of crisis, we cannot handle not having a chief of staff," Aragão argued.

For the justice minister, the government did right to engage Lula in the staff, because he will be "essential to build bridges and reach some kind of national consensus."

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta

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