Brazil: thousands of anti-Bolsonaro protesters in the streets

Published on : 07/03/2021 – 21:53

The calamitous management of the Covid-19 epidemic in Brazil and a recent corruption scandal around public procurement of vaccines have revived the mobilization of opponents of President Jair Bolsonaro. Thousands of Brazilians marched across the country on Saturday, July 3, to protest against the far-right leader, who has been under investigation the day before for failing to report an attempted corruption in the purchase of vaccines.

“There are already more than 500,000 people murdered by this government as a result of fallacious policies, fake news, lies, and now this absurd corruption scandal around vaccines,” doctor Patricia de Lima Mendes told AFP, 47 years old, demonstrator in Rio.

As part of this third day of mobilization since the end of May to demand the departure of Bolsonaro, rallies were held at the call of the opposition also in Belem (north), Recife (north-east) and Maceió (north-east). is) where one could read on banners: “Bolsonaro genocidal”, “Destitution immediately” or “Yes to vaccines”.

New request for dismissal

President Bolsonaro is suspected of turning a blind eye to corruption suspicions reported by a health ministry official.

Testifying before the Senate Committee of Inquiry (ICC), this official said he had been subjected to “atypical pressure” to approve the importation of doses of the Indian vaccine Covaxin that he considered overcharged.

“The President of the Republic took no action after being warned of a gigantic network of corruption within the Ministry of Health,” said ICC vice-president Randolfe Rodrigues, who is one of the three. senators to have seized the Supreme Court for “prevarication” of the head of the State, “an offense envisaged by the penal code”.

Several opposition parties filed Wednesday in the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies a new request for the impeachment of President Jair Bolsonaro.

This request is unlikely to succeed, according to specialists, but it allows the opposition to increase political pressure on President Bolsonaro.

With AFP