Who is Andrei Rodrigues, the federal police chief suspended on Mendonça’s order?

Andrei Rodrigues, the director-general of Brazil’s Federal Police, remains suspended after Supreme Court Justice André Mendonça ordered his removal from the post and the court formed a majority to uphold the decision.

Justice Gilmar Mendes requested more time to examine the case, extending the review period by 90 days, but his move did not change the effect of Mendonça’s ruling. Rodrigues therefore remains away from the position.

The dispute centers on an internal Federal Police report that Alexandre de Moraes used to seek an investigation into Mendonça. The allegations include abuse of authority, administrative misconduct and a crime of responsibility. Mendonça had published Federal Police inquiries linking Moraes to Daniel Vorcaro, the owner of Banco Master. The report alleged that Mendonça directed investigations against Moraes and Senate President Davi Alcolumbre, with a breach of judicial impartiality and favoritism toward certain political groups.

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with a breach of judicial impartiality and favoritism toward certain political groups

Mendonça indicated that he was prepared to bring the question of a formal investigation against his fellow justice before the full court. The conflict places Rodrigues at the center of a broader series of institutional disputes that marked his leadership of the Federal Police.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva chose Rodrigues to replace the Bolsonaro-aligned leadership that had occupied the Federal Police until 2023. Rodrigues had served as Lula’s security coordinator and previously worked on the security detail of former President Dilma Rousseff. He also oversaw security for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Under Rodrigues, the Federal Police opened inquiries involving the Army, the Federal Highway Police, the Institutional Security Office, the Brazilian Intelligence Agency, prosecutors and Rio de Janeiro’s Civil Police. He also clashed with other agencies over presidential protection. A dispute with the Brazilian Intelligence Agency culminated in the 2024 dismissal of its deputy director, Alessandro Moretti, who had been cited in a police report about the alleged use of the agency under Jair Bolsonaro to spy on political opponents.

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