Sergio Moro owes an explanation to Brazilian society.

The relationship between former judge and presidential candidate Sérgio Moro (Podemos) and the consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal, which received R$ 42,5 million in fees from companies investigated by Operation Lava Jato, is currently a hot topic – in the National Congress, the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Federal Court of Auditors, and on Twitter.

Before we delve into this discussion, it is crucial to remember the damage caused to the country by Operation Lava Jato. The so-called "Curitiba Gang," led by Deltan Dallagnon and Sérgio Moro, who admitted to being the head of the operation, is responsible for the destruction of millions of jobs.

His fingerprints are imprinted on the enormous losses caused by the botched operation whose motivation is becoming increasingly evident to society: under the pretext of fighting corruption, it concealed a clear political project that weakened our democracy and destroyed the Brazilian economy.

In March of last year, Dieese published a study showing how harmful Lava Jato was to the country. To give an idea of ​​the size of the impact, Lava Jato cost Brazil 4,4 million jobs and 3,6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in addition to the loss of potential investment equivalent to R$ 172,2 billion.

The jobs destroyed by the "Curitiba Gang" are equivalent to 60% of the jobs eliminated in 2020, according to data from the IBGE's Continuous National Household Sample Survey (PNAD Contínua). And the largest share of these jobs, according to the DIEESE study, is concentrated in the construction sector: approximately 1,1 million.

The figures touted by those responsible for Lava Jato as recovered values ​​– R$ 14 billion, according to Deltan Dallagnol – don't even come close to the R$ 172,2 billion in lost investments.

In taxes alone, we failed to collect R$ 47,4 billion and R$ 20,3 billion in payroll contributions, in addition to reducing the country's total wages by R$ 85,8 billion. The operation affected the sectors directly involved (oil and gas and civil construction), but also several other segments (due to indirect consequences and the income effect).

In addition, of course, to the political impact, there is also the impact on the development of strategic economic sectors for the country. Economic sectors that include, as we know, client companies of the consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal, for whom Sérgio Moro provided services and whose contract is protected by a confidentiality clause.

Sérgio Moro, declared biased and suspect by the Supreme Court in the context of Operation Lava Jato, at the time defended the breach of telephone secrecy of a conversation between then-President Dilma Rousseff and Lula, stating that "democracy in a free society demands that the governed know what the rulers are doing, even when the latter seek to act protected by the shadows."

Now, a former judge who is now traveling the country as a pre-candidate for the Presidency of the Republic should not, therefore, act protected by the shadows, or by a secret contract. Disclosing how much he received and in which cases he acted is in keeping with the transparency that should guide public figures. Publicity is fundamental to verifying the legality of his actions and whether they are compatible with morality.

It is indeed necessary for society to discuss the role that Sérgio Moro played in Operation Lava Jato. Furthermore, it is the role of lawyers, and of all citizens, to demand that the abuses and wrongdoings of the former judge and the "Curitiba Group" do not go unpunished.

Therefore, it is essential that the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) continue the process of investigating the conduct of the former judge regarding the amounts he received during the period in which he worked with Alvares & Marsal, and that the National Congress investigate Moro's actions in the private sphere and his alleged conflict of interest.

And, most importantly: that the Public Prosecutor's Office fulfill its constitutional duty and initiate investigative proceedings into these extremely serious events.