Brazil: Jair Bolsonaro at the heart of a scandal over the purchase of vaccines, an open investigation

Published on : 07/02/2021 – 20:50

The Brazilian prosecution announced, Friday, July 2, “the opening of an investigation” into accusations against President Jair Bolsonaro, suspected of having failed to report an attempted corruption in his government on the occasion of purchases vaccines against Covid-19.

“In a notice published this Friday morning, the attorney general’s office informed the Supreme Court of the opening of an investigation into the events reported” by three senators, who accused Jair Bolsonaro of “prevarication” on Monday, explains the prosecution. in a press release.

Among these senators, the vice-chairman of a Senate commission of inquiry (CPI) pinpoints the Bolsonaro government on how the health crisis has been managed. Randolfe Rodrigues, he estimated that the head of state had “taken no action after being warned of a gigantic network of corruption within the Ministry of Health”.

“The prevarication is an offense envisaged by the penal code”, he had recalled.

“Unlikely” prosecutions

Health ministry official Luis Ricardo Miranda, the ministry’s medical import manager, told the ICC last week that he was under “atypical pressure” to approve the purchase of doses of India’s Covaxin vaccine. – which he considered overcharged.

This official and his brother, MP Luis Miranda, have revealed that they have raised their suspicions to Jair Bolsonaro but no action has been taken by the president.

Now, the Deputy Attorney General, Humberto Jacques de Medeiros, has asked Supreme Court Judge Rosa Weber for permission to demand evidence on the case “and the possible presentation of evidence” collected by other judicial bodies and legislative.

If the evidence gathered is sufficient, the prosecutor’s office will ask the Supreme Court to prosecute the head of state. But for this the Supreme Court must obtain the approval of two-thirds of the members of the Chamber of Deputies and Jair Bolsonaro would be removed from his post for six months, until the prosecution ends.

This scenario seems unlikely, however, given the support the far-right president has in the lower house of parliament.

“The opening of an investigation (on the charge of prevarication) is a defeat for the president but I do not see any element which guarantees a prosecution,” political analyst Creomar de Souza of the cabinet told AFP. of Dharma advice.

Along with the ICC and the ongoing prosecution investigation, the opposition is pushing for the President of the Chamber of Deputies to agree to initiate impeachment proceedings against Jair Bolsonaro. New demonstrations will be organized on Saturday in Rio to demand his dismissal.

With AFP