Brazilian senators met Tuesday night to discuss a report that would criminalize President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been accused of retaliating against the COVID-19 epidemic and making the country the world’s second deadliest country.
The Associated Press has reviewed the latest draft of the Senate committee’s report and recommended that the president be charged with 11 counts of inciting blackmail, inciting crime, murder, and even genocide.
Three members of the G7, a group of senators who did not leave Bolsonaro’s base, objected to the inclusion of murder and genocide, five members said, agreeing to discuss the details without naming the committee members. The senators said the three had tried to persuade their peers to plead guilty to two counts, but over time, at least the recommendation to commit murder was likely to remain in the text.
Whether or not to remain, analysts say, it is unclear whether such recommendations will hold the president accountable.
Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing and has repeatedly accused the investigation of being a political tool aimed at sabotaging him.
Critics have accused Bolsonaro of disregarding the severity of the coronavirus, of ignoring international medical guidelines and restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus, of providing unproven treatment, and of delaying vaccinations.
Anger over the president’s position led to the formation of a Senate committee in April to investigate allegations that more than 600,000 people in Brazil had died of COVID-19 from the management of the Bolsonaro plague.
The nearly 1,200-page draft report, written by Senator Renan Caleyros, is scheduled to be presented to an 11-member committee on Wednesday.
The document must be approved by the committee before it can be sent to Bolsonaro’s designated Attorney General’s Office, which will decide whether to continue the investigation or possibly the case. In Brazil, members of congressional committees have the power to investigate but not to prosecute.
Regardless of the content of the final version of the report and whether the Attorney General is moving forward, his statement will provoke criticism from far-right leaders whose ratings have fallen ahead of the 2022 re-election campaign.
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“The main impact of the investigation is political in nature, as it has generated a lot of information to be used in campaign strategies next year,” said Thiago de Araguo, strategic director of political consulting at Arko Advice.
While many experts say this is not possible, the report concludes that the government “deliberately put the population at certain risk of mass transmission” under the influence of informal advisers who advocated herd immunization. option.
Even during the worst of the plague, Bolsonaro said that if the economy stopped, the poor would be worse off, and he strongly opposed social exclusion. He continues to argue that hydroxychloroquine, which has anti-malarial effects, is effective in treating COVID-19, but scientists believe it is ineffective.
During the six-month investigation, the senators obtained thousands of documents and testified from more than 60 people.
“The committee has gathered evidence that the federal government has been silent and has decided to act in a non-technical and careless manner,” the report said.
Senators who spoke to the AP said it was extremely difficult for Senator Caleyros to ask the International Criminal Court to include a recommendation that Bolsonaro investigate indigenous peoples for possible genocide. They say this has angered committee members, including government critics, who see the genocide as an exaggeration that could threaten the credibility of the entire report.
Senators said there was little opposition to the indictment, but they were equally concerned.
Carlos Melo, a political scientist who teaches at the University of Inspire in São Paulo, said: “The Attorney General’s Office will look through a magnifying glass to wash his hands.”
In addition to Bolsonaro, the draft report proposes payments to dozens of allies and current and former members of his administration. Senators say three senators who have been accused of murder and genocide for Bolsonaro, as well as the son of Bolsonaro’s legislator, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, have refused to plead guilty.
The committee’s senators were also wary of demanding that the military be blamed.