Lula Taps Wellington Lima e Silva to Lead Justice and Public Security Ministry

Overview

• Lula ratified the choice on Tuesday after summoning Lima e Silva to the Planalto, succeeding Ricardo Lewandowski, who resigned last week and was formally exonerated on January 10 with Manoel Carlos de Almeida Neto as interim.
• Lima e Silva is Petrobras' chief legal officer and previously served as the Casa Civil's secretary of legal affairs, a role that put him in near-daily contact with the president.
• He briefly led the Justice Ministry in 2016 before an STF ruling barred active prosecutors from executive posts, a restriction that no longer applies because he is retired.
• His selection is backed by influential allies around Lula, including Senate leader Jaques Wagner and ministers Rui Costa and Sidônio Palmeira.
• The Planalto intends to keep justice and public security under one portfolio for now, with officials signaling a possible internal refocus on organized crime as Congress debates a public security PEC.