Political crisis adds to Brazil’s virus disaster
Probe into Bolsonaro’s conduct threatens pandemic response
As Brazil careens toward a full-blown public health emergency and economic meltdown, President Jair Bolsonaro has managed to add a third ingredient to the toxic mix: political crisis. Even if it doesn’t speed his downfall, it will render Brazilians more vulnerable to the pandemic.
Bolsonaro’s decision last week to replace the federal police chief — and cross his popular justice minister, Se´rgio Moro, who quit and alleged impropriety — has sparked an investigation into the president’s actions that will be conducted by the federal police itself.
Bolsonaro has appointed Andre´ Mendonc¸a, an evangelical pastor who has served as attorney general since 2019, to replace Moro, and Alexandre Ramagem to serve as director general of the federal police.
Ramagem, who had been director of Brazil’s intelligence agency ABIN, has been photographed with Bolsonaro’s sons and his closeness with the Bolsonaro family has prompted concern he would give them undue preferential treatment.
During the announcement of his resignation, Moro said Bolsonaro told him on multiple occasions that he wanted to replace the federal police chief with someone who would give him access to police investigations, some of which reportedly target one or more of the president’s sons. That pitched the administration into turmoil and prompted Bolsonaro’s own prosecutor-general to call for a Supreme Court investigation. Irate Brazilians observing government stay-at-home recommendations because of the virus banged pots and pans from their windows in protest.
Justice Celso de Mello authorised
the probe into Bolsonaro’s actions on Tuesday, including possible crimes of coercion and corruption.
“The President of the Republic — who is also subject to the laws, like any other citizen of this country — is not exonerated from criminal liability stemming from his acts,” Mello wrote in his decision.
The criminal probe and Moro’s resignation threaten to weaken Bolsonaro’s standing at a time when he already has come under fire for opposition to state efforts to control the rapidly spreading coronavirus. More than 71,000 Brazilians have been infected and more than 5000 have died — vast under-counts according to experts who point to the country’s lack of testing. Bolsonaro also fired his popular health minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, who had supported confinement measures by state governors.
Margareth Dalcolmo, a clinical researcher and professor of respiratory medicine at the state-funded Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio, said that “ambivalence” and inconsistencies by Bolsonaro’s administration have paved the way for “the biggest humanitarian tragedy we’ve ever seen in Brazil”.
“We are running against time in a chaotic way,” Dalcolmo said.
Bolsonaro has called Covid-19 “a little flu” and said state measures that have closed down all but essential businesses will cause economic damage far worse than allowing the disease to spread while isolating only high-risk Brazilians. Bolsonaro’s newly named Health Minister Nelson Teich, in his first address to the nation, declared himself “completely aligned” with the president.
Congress, which had been trying to hammer out solutions for the economic and health crises, will now have to absorb the impact of the probe, and possibly conduct an impeachment process if crimes are proven.