By Indianara Goz
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, of the Workers' Party (PT), has pushed back the decision on who will lead the Federal Police (PF), Brazil's national federal law enforcement agency, which is going through an internal crisis. The choice is only expected after he returns from a trip to Turkey and the Philippines. There is also a condition: first, the government must decide who will head the future Ministry of Public Security.
Crisis inside the Federal Police
The maneuvering over the post gained momentum just as the force faces some of its most tense weeks. The current director-general, Andrei Rodrigues, broke with the National Association of Federal Police Delegates, of which he had been a member for more than 20 years. The reasons were disagreements over the group's conduct and conflicts inside the PF itself. Among the issues weighing on the tension are developments in the Banco Master investigations.
Behind the scenes, Lula wants to settle the design of the new security structure first. Only then will he make the final call on the PF's top job.
Three names in the running
The first is William Murad, the PF's executive director. His name has circulated since January. He took Rodrigues' place during the removal ordered in early September by Justice André Mendonça of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Brazil's highest court.
The second is Marcelo Werner, a federal police delegate who is currently Bahia's state secretary of public security. Wellington César Lima e Silva and Bahia Governor Jerônimo Rodrigues (PT) back him. But there is resistance inside the PT itself: some party factions see Bahia's crime data as an obstacle to his appointment.
The third is Helena de Rezende, who runs the PF's People Management Directorate and was once the agency's internal affairs chief. Her name gained strength in September, with the possibility that Lula would choose a woman. If picked, she would be the first woman to lead the PF's director-general's office. Behind the scenes, First Lady Janja is said to have defended that option.
New security ministry still undefined
Lula promised to create a standalone ministry for public security and made the step conditional on approval of the Public Security constitutional amendment (PEC), which the Senate concluded on November 3. A provisional measure to structure the ministry has begun to be discussed with the Casa Civil (the president's chief of staff's office) and the Justice Ministry, but its final format is still being drafted.
Names mentioned to run the new ministry are São Paulo prosecutor Lincoln Gakiya, known for his work against the PCC criminal gang; the national public security secretary, Chico Lucas; and Senators Rui Costa (PT-BA) and Camilo Santana (PT-CE), both former governors and former ministers under Lula.
Why it matters
The Federal Police investigates high-profile cases, including corruption and organized crime, so who commands it carries weight well beyond the agency. The decision will also shape how the Lula government organizes federal security policy through a new ministry. Until Lula returns to Brazil, the PF's leadership remains in suspense, with the force divided and names being tested behind the scenes.
VDD Analysis
The government wants to change the leadership of the Federal Police and create a new ministry in the middle of a crisis inside the force, with the choice contested among allies and even the first lady cited behind the scenes. Those following the case expect the criterion to be technical and that the PF not become a piece in the Planalto's political bargaining. The institution's independence is a value citizens need to see preserved.
