Ricupero: "The Lava Jato scandal is over; it belongs more to the realm of history than to that of reality."

Conjur - In 2004, when he left his diplomatic career, Rubens Ricupero —Minister of Finance during the implementation of the Real Plan— had become accustomed to the prestigious position achieved by Brazilian diplomacy. A historian and law graduate from USP (University of São Paulo), he gave an interview to Conjur, by telephone, analyzing current foreign policy and the legacy of "Lava Jato" (Operation Car Wash).

Since the return to democracy in 1985, the way the country has sought to project itself internationally has been governed by the same principle: diplomacy is the pursuit of autonomy through participation. 

According to the diplomat, the concept began to crumble when Jair Bolsonaro took office. Since then, he says, foreign policy has become increasingly aligned with the Donald Trump administration and opposed to Beijing.

But foreign policy, before it comes into the world, is gestated internally. In 2016, Ricupero stated that at the time there was a "robed party" that could interrupt the political game at any moment—referring to the power of the self-proclaimed "operations" that presented themselves as fighters against corruption. 

Revisiting the subject, he says that "Lava Jato" has lost momentum over the years and is taking its last breaths. "Those 'Lava Jato' offspring that were created in the federal courts of various states continue to exist, but on a low flame. As a political-judicial phenomenon, 'Lava Jato' today belongs more to the realm of history than to that of reality," he states. The conversation took place before Sergio Moro left the Ministry of Justice. 

If "Lava Jato" is a thing of the past, the "party of the robe" has bequeathed to the country a new president — and his new foreign policy, conducted by agents who deny social isolation as a way to confront the Covid-19 epidemic, but who accelerate the country's isolation in the world.

"The net result of Brazilian decisions is that we will be led to isolation—in every sense of the term—and to an extraordinary loss of the soft power that the country had accumulated. Today, without any exaggeration, Brazil is the country whose leader is among the most despised and most hated in the world. The foreign policy landscape is one of ruins," he states.

The interview was conducted before Sergio Moro resigned from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.

Check out the full interview on the website. Conjur.