Brazil: Bolsonaro in the eye of the storm to manage the pandemic – “He committed many crimes”

The long-awaited publication of the report by the investigation committee, which is considered to incriminate the president, is postponed for one day – from tomorrow Tuesday (19/10) to the day after Wednesday – Zaich Bolsonaru for his policy, which for many has been irresponsible and “criminal”, during his pandemic coronavirus.

In particular, the senators want to discuss for one more day the content of this report, which is somewhere 1,000 pages, which will finally be “read by rapporteur Henan Caleirus”, informed the chairman of the examination committee, Omar Aziz. The vote on the report by the committee, originally scheduled for the day after Wednesday, will take place next week, October 26, he added.

On Friday, Henan Caleirus referred to at least 11 categories to the detriment of the President, speaking of “Negligent homicides” in a row, “crime against humanity”, “charlatanism”. Several ministers and the head of state’s three sons are also expected to face charges, according to the APE-MPE. Analysts, however, say the commission’s conclusion will have only a symbolic impact, at least in the short term, as the far-right president still has the support in parliament to prevent any possible proceedings to dismiss him and refer him to trial.

But the political consequences may prove disastrous for Zaich Bolsonaro, who is far from certain to be re-elected in less than a year. Polls want him to be defeated by a wide margin by the former president Luis Inassiou Lula da Silva.

For five months now, the small Senate chamber where the jury has been hearing has been turned into a theater of retaliation, insults, tears – and even the arrest of a witness for perjury.

Brazil: “Terrifying practices”

The process, which has been broadcast live on television for weeks, has come to light the main “omissions” of the government during the health crisis, which has claimed the lives of over 600,000 people in Latin America’s largest state. The senators specifically tried to perform responsibilities for nightmares during the pandemic, such as the deaths of dozens of suffocating patients in January due to a lack of oxygen in Manaus, Amazon.

Inviting ministers, parliamentarians, as well as representatives of private companies to testify, the committee also delved into other well-known problems, such as delays in obtaining vaccines. During the hearings they took place explosive revelations, especially for corruption scandals.

Zaich Bolsonaru, according to the Senate committee, there are suspicions that turned a blind eye to a vaccine overdose case. A separate investigation is being conducted into this case by the prosecutor’s office. His government is also accused of that promoted ineffective treatments for the disease caused by the new coronavirus, especially based on hydroxychloroquine, an active substance with mainly anti-malarial use that the president never stopped praising.

However, many Brazilians were shocked above all by the accusations against Prevent Senior, a private company that owns a hospital chain: it is accused of conducting experiments with these treatments in patients unknowingly and that it was downgrading data on deaths due to complications of COVID-19.

“These are horrific practices that we have not seen in hospitals since World War II,” Bruna Moratou, a lawyer for 12 doctors who complained that the group had been forced to participate, told AFP.

The key people

The Senate Inquiry Committee does not have the jurisdiction to prosecute directly. But her report will be handed over to competent bodies, such as the Brazilian prosecutor’s office and the Court of Auditors, and may also be sent to the International Criminal Court, where complaints have already been lodged against the president.

“We have found out a lot, Bolsonaro and his entourage have committed many crimes, there is a lot to talk about, in Brazil and abroad,” Senate committee chairman Omar Aziz told AFP.

For the political scientist Creomar de Souza, the finding will have a mainly “symbolic impact”, contributing to the deterioration of a president whose popularity is at an all-time low. For now, however, Zaich Bolsonaru is protected by two allies holding key positions: Attorney General Augustus Aras and Parliament Speaker Arthur Lira.

Mr Aras is the only one with the power to prosecute the president for criminal offenses, which Creomar de Souza considers “unlikely”. Arthur Lira, for his part, has always refused to put to the vote some of the 130 proposals that have been tabled to refer the head of state to trial.