PF members see political dispute in crisis with Master delegates and disagree about Andrei

The crisis caused by the removal of two delegates who worked in coordinating investigations into Banco Master has served as fuel in the internal dispute experienced by the Federal Police, according to members of the corporation interviewed by Folha.

According to these police officers, the episode has been used both in the possible change of command of the body and in the appointment of a Minister of Public Security, a position that the Lula (PT) government intends to create. Allies of the PF general director, Andrei Rodrigues, defend his name for the post.

The ADPF (National Association of Federal Police Delegates), which increased its criticism of Andrei last week, has considered that there is no climate for him to remain in the leadership of the PF. The entity had already clashed with him prior to the removal of the delegates in the Master case.

In the association, there is an expectation for Andrei to be replaced by its executive director, William Murad, with whom he had no clashes. Emissaries would have already sent him messages to this effect, which would not have been reciprocated.

Some of the corporation's members see signs of Andrei's weakening, others defend him and claim that he maintains control of the institution. There is also an interpretation that the episode caused his political exhaustion, but that he would still have support from his group within the PF.

Members of the federal government interviewed by the report assess that the crisis has increased the wear and tear on the general director, but that his future is still uncertain within the corporation.

They said that it will be necessary to wait for Lula's return from his trip to discuss who will be the minister of the new Public Security portfolio and the situation of the director general. The president has an agenda outside the country.

Members of other PF classes, such as agents and experts, who have historical feuds with delegates, endorse that Andrei's failure is not exclusively due to the withdrawal of delegates.

In the episode, Daniel Mostardeiro Cola and Wedson Cajé Lopes were removed from their trusted positions as general coordinator of Repression of Corruption, Financial Crimes and Money Laundering and eventual replacement, respectively.

Officially, police management attributed the measure to restructuring. Later, it became known that the decision was based on the production of reports requested by the president of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), Edson Fachin, with the citations to ministers found on Daniel Vorcaro's cell phone.

The PF leadership considered that there was disrespect for the hierarchy on the part of the delegates when they inserted the documents directly into the police IT system, without first going through supervision, as would have been agreed.

There was a determination, then, for them to be redone. The fear was that the delegates would attribute crimes to the ministers, which would not be within the scope of Fachin's request.

The minister would have instructed the PF management that investigators should not anticipate judgments, nor conclude that acts were illegal. The PF leadership also stressed that the police could not investigate ministers, which would lead to a possible future annulment of the cases.

After his removal, the delegates' association criticized the measure and released a note suggesting Andrei's interference in the investigations. The director had requested disaffiliation from the entity the previous week.

Among the experts interviewed by Folha, there was an assessment that, if Fachin's request was simply for the PF to prepare the material for the Supreme Court to examine, which would be an administrative task, the director general could act in supervising compliance with the letter.

In this case, they state, there would be no problem with Andrei determining to supplement the document, if it did not comply with what was requested. It would also not constitute interference in autonomy.

They considered, however, that if the assignment were for the PF to examine the content on its own, which would be an investigative task, that would indeed be interference.

Among the agents, it was reported that Andrei's crisis with the ADPF stemmed from previous episodes, such as when the use of the same t-shirt by all careers in the day-to-day activities of the National Police Academy generated strong discomfort among delegates, who wanted their own uniform.

The situation led members of the career to defend the director's departure from the academy and her exclusion from the association, but the rest of the class would have sided with Andrei.