Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Brazil Senate committee backs criminal charges against Bolsonaro



Issued on: 27/10/2021 -
Text by: NEWS WIRES

A Brazilian Senate commission approved a damning report on Tuesday that recommends criminal charges be brought against President Jair Bolsonaro, including crimes against humanity, for his Covid policies.

Seven of the panel's 11 senators voted to endorse the text -- presented last week after a six-month investigation into Brazil's pandemic response -- which also calls for the indictment of 77 other people, including several ministers and three of Bolsonaro's children.

The nearly 1,200-page report also urges Brazil's Supreme Court to suspend the far-right leader's access to his accounts on social media platforms YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for falsely alleging that Covid-19 vaccines were linked to AIDS.

Following dozens of often tense and harrowing hearings, the report finds Bolsonaro "deliberately exposed" Brazilians to "mass infection" in a disastrous attempt to reach herd immunity from the coronavirus.

The report calls for the president to be indicted for nine crimes related to his downplaying Covid-19 and flouting expert advice on containing it.

They include "crimes against humanity," "prevarication," "charlatanism," and incitement to crime.

The committee does not have the power to bring charges itself, and it is unlikely the attorney general or lower-house speaker -- both Bolsonaro allies -- will open criminal or impeachment proceedings.

But the report adds to the damage as Bolsonaro reels from his lowest-ever approval ratings, heading into an election in one year's time that polls place him on track to lose to leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

And the crimes against humanity charge theoretically has the potential to be tried at the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

After the vote the senators observed a minute of silence in tribute to the 606,000 Brazilians who have died from Covid -- a toll second only to the United States.

"We can no longer tolerate this type of behavior," the lawmakers said in a court filing earlier signed by the panel's deputy chair, opposition Senator Randolfe Rodrigues.

Debunked AIDS claim

The committee hearings, broadcast live, have featured emotional witness statements and chilling revelations about the use of ineffective medication on "human guinea pigs."

The senators' court filing called for the authorities to lift the data confidentiality on Bolsonaro's social media accounts and order Facebook and Twitter, as well as YouTube owner Google, to provide normally secret information on the president's usage.

The document also called on the high court to order Bolsonaro to make a retraction in a nationally televised address, "refuting any correlation between vaccination against the coronavirus and developing AIDS," or face a fine of 50,000 reais ($9,000) for every day he fails to comply.

Bolsonaro made the controversial claim Thursday in his weekly social media live address.

He said "official reports" from the British government -- which has debunked the claim -- "suggest that people who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 are developing Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome much faster than expected."

Facebook removed the video for violating its policies on spreading misinformation. YouTube went a step further Monday, suspending Bolsonaro for a week, in addition to blocking the clip.

'I don't want to lose Facebook'

Bolsonaro appeared to have taken the information from a supposed news story spreading online.

"I recommend you read the article," he said in his video, without saying where the information came from.

"I'm not going to read it here, because I don't want to lose my Facebook live video."

Like former US president Donald Trump, his political role model, Bolsonaro relies heavily on social media to rally his base.

Bolsonaro has had social media posts deleted numerous times in the past for spreading misinformation and inciting people to violate social distancing policies.

However, this is the first time Facebook has taken down one of his weekly live videos, a cornerstone of his communications.

The president, who took office in January 2019, has said he does not plan to be vaccinated against Covid-19, and joked in the past the vaccine could "turn you into an alligator."

(AFP)

Donald Trump Endorses Jair Bolsonaro as Brazil Senate Recommends Charges Over Pandemic

BY JUSTIN KLAWANS ON 10/26/21 
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has received a reelection endorsement from former President Donald Trump the same day that the Brazilian Senate recommend he face criminal charges for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"President Jair Bolsonaro and I have become great friends over the past few years," former President Trump said in a statement. "He fights for, and loves, the people of Brazil."

"[Bolsonaro] is a great president and will never let the people of his great country down," the statement continued.


The president of Brazil since 2019, Bolsonaro has often been compared to Trump because of his numerous similar policies. The Daily Beast has even called Bolsonaro the "Trump of the Tropics."
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An independent who was a former official in Rio de Janeiro, Bolsonaro was elected on a far-right platform of nationalist conservatism. He has also advocated pro-life views and supports less restrictive gun laws in Brazil.

Additionally, Foreign Policy noted in January that Bolsonaro "[idolized] the outgoing U.S. president" and was "peddling similar false claims and conspiracy theories in Brazil" after the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Trump's endorsement comes hours after a Brazilian Senate committee voted 7-4 on a recommendation that Bolsonaro should face criminal charges for his handling of COVID.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump the same day that the Brazilian Senate recommended he face charges for his handling of the pandemic. Here, Bolsonaro can be seen giving a speech in 2020.
EVARISTO SA/GETTY

While Bolsonaro is up for reelection in 2022, his approval ratings have been falling as a result of hyperinflation and his response to the pandemic. Brazil has had the second-most deaths from COVID-19 in the world, behind only the United States.

The Senate committee had been investigating Bolsonaro and his administration's actions regarding COVID for the past six months.

A copy of the committee's report obtained by the Associated Press states that Bolsonaro should be charged with a number of offenses, from inciting crime to charlatanism and crimes against humanity.

The author of the report also stated that Bolsonaro was "the main person responsible for the errors committed by the federal government during the pandemic."

Bolsonaro allegedly did not purchase the needed amount of COVID vaccines to inoculate the Brazilian population, and has additionally expressed doubt about the vaccines' efficacy. He has also reportedly downplayed the severity of the pandemic and pushed back against mask mandates and quarantines.

The only major government policy that Bolsonaro endorsed against the pandemic was the use of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug also advocated by former President Trump.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated that "the potential benefits of these drugs do not outweigh their risks," and the use of hydroxychloroquine has not been proven effective against the virus.

Bolsonaro himself contracted COVID-19 in July 2020.

Nationwide protests occurred in Brazil this past June, with people demanding that Bolsonaro resign due to what they felt was poor handling of the pandemic. German outlet DW reported that the protests extended across 43 Brazilian cities.

Despite the findings of the Senate, Bolsonaro has maintained that he did not handle the pandemic improperly, and has brushed off the recommendations of health officials as "political correctness". Additionally, the nation's Prosecutor-General is viewed as a Bolsonaro loyalist who is likely to protect him in a court of law.

Newsweek has contacted the Brazilian government's press office for comment.

 EXPLAINER: Brazil senators urge COVID charges for Bolsonaro 

BY MAURICIO SAVARESE 

ASSOCIATED PRESS

 OCTOBER 27, 2021

SAO PAULO 

A Brazilian Senate committee is recommending that President Jair Bolsonaro face a series of criminal indictments for actions and omissions related to the world’s second highest COVID-19 death toll. The 7-to-4 vote Tuesday by the 11-member committee ended its six-month investigation of the government’s handling of the pandemic and calls for prosecutors to put Bolsonaro on trial for charges ranging from charlatanism and inciting crime to misuse of public funds and crimes against humanity. More than 600,000 people have died of COVID-19 in Brazil. 

What lies ahead for Bolsonaro, who denies any wrongdoing:

WHAT ARE THE RECOMMENDATIONS AGAINST BOLSONARO? 

The most debated of the recommended charges is of inciting an epidemic that leads to deaths. Prison time for those convicted ranges between 20 and 30 years. Gustavo Badaró, a law professor at Sao Paulo University, argues that is a “thin legal case” because Bolsonaro did not start the pandemic himself. Bolsonaro is also accused of violating health protocols, charlatanism, falsification of private documents, irregular use of public funds, crimes against humanity, violation of social rights and breach of presidential decorum. Badaró argues the strongest case against Bolsonaro in the final report is the accusation of delaying or refraining from action required as part of a public official’s duty for reasons of personal interest. Prison time for a conviction ranges from three months to one year, but as a sitting president that could be enough to suspend Bolsonaro from office. Ricardo Barretto, a law professor at IDP university, says Bolsonaro's open challenge of health protocols and his defense of drugs that don't work against the coronavirus are also well substantiated. The president was repeatedly seen unmasked at gatherings that he encouraged himself. He also touted use of anti-malarial drug chloroquine as if it was a cure for the virus. 

Senators had debated whether they should recommend charges of homicide and genocide against Bolsonaro, but they decided not to include those in the final report. 

___ WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? 

Brazil’s prosecutor-general, Augusto Aras, who in the past has sided with the president and is widely seen as protecting him, has to decide whether the Senate inquiry warrants him opening an investigation. He would then have to get authorization from the Supreme Court to proceed since Bolsonaro is a sitting politician. Sen. Omar Aziz, the chairman of the Senate inquiry, said he planned to deliver the committee's recommendations to Aras on Wednesday. If the prosecutor-general presented charges against the president, the case would move to Brazil's Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Congress. Two-thirds of the 513 deputies would have to vote for the Supreme Court to suspend the president for at least six months and put him on trial. Senators, however, do not expect Aras to move forward with charges against Bolsonaro. The inquiry also offers two alternatives for punishing Bolsonaro for crimes he allegedly committed. The first is a request for an impeachment proceeding that would join more than 100 others in the files of Speaker Arthur Lira, who has stymied several attempts to remove Bolsonaro from office. The second is to get a case against Bolsonaro at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, but there are no details on how or when that might occur. 

___ WHO ELSE COULD BE CHARGED?

 The Senate inquiry recommends charges against a total of 78 people and two companies. It includes Bolsonaro’s three eldest sons, Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, federal Deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro and Rio de Janeiro city council member Carlos Bolsonaro. All three are accused of spreading false information about the pandemic online. A former health minister, Gen. Eduardo Pazuello, and his successor, Marcelo Queiroga, are also on the list, which includes four other Cabinet ministers. The report also names Wilson Lima, governor of the state of Amazonas, and his health secretary. The Amazonas capital, Manaus, experienced severe shortages of oxygen supply at the beginning of the year, causing many COVID-19 patients to die breathless. Charges are also recommended for several businessmen who staunchly support Bolsonaro. 

___ WHAT ARE THE POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS?

 Bolsonaro faces a difficult reelection path for next October's election, and the probe is one of the reasons his popularity is at record lows. His nemesis, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, leads all polls to return to the office he held in 2003-2010. The end of the Senate inquiry gives some relief to the president, who won't have damaging daily news on the investigation being shown on primetime television. His allies in Congress are now expected to push for reforms and new measures to deal with another trigger for Bolsonaro's unpopularity — a sharp acceleration of inflation that has added to Brazil's economic woes with high unemployment. Barretto, the IDP law professor, says the recommendations of charges against Bolsonaro could affect his political future even more if he loses reelection. He notes other courts and prosecutors could prosecute the far-right politician for the same alleged crimes once he was out of office, regardless of the prosecutor-general's decision. They could also pursue charges of administrative dishonesty, a crime under Brazilian law that leads to a defendant losing his political rights for a conviction.

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