From birth to agony: The political life of Operation Car Wash (Operação Lava Jato)

Abstract:This article reconstructs Operation Car Wash’s (Operação Lava Jato) political project. Three different phases of the operation are analysed: its conception, its encounter with political and administrative corruption, and its attempt to mobilize popular support to combat political and administrative corruption. The analysis characterizes the operation as a particular manifestation of judicial intervention in the system of representative politics, presenting a critical view of its effects on the balance of power between non-elected and elected officials.