Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday that he would not testify before a Senate committee investigating possible irregularities in the negotiation of anti-Covid vaccines by his government: "I'm shitting on the ICC," he said launched.

"Do you know what my answer is?"

I shit, I shit on the ICC.

I will not respond to anything, ”said Jair Bolsonaro in his weekly address broadcast on social networks.

The head of state was referring to a request from officials of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (ICC), who want the president to respond to allegations of attempted overbilling in the purchase of the Indian vaccine Covaxin.

"I will not answer these people in any hypothesis, they are not interested in knowing the truth, but in devaluing the government," added the president.

15 dollars per vaccine, against 1.34 dollars normally

"After thirteen days (of allegations), Your Excellency has not issued any statement categorically, punctually and enlighteningly distancing itself from the serious allegations attributed to Your Excellency," said Senators Omar Aziz, President of the CPI, Randolfe Rodrigues, vice-president and Renan Calheiros, rapporteur, in a letter addressed to the head of state and quoted by the press. The far-right president is the subject of a preliminary investigation for "prevarication", accused of having overlooked suspicions of corruption in the purchase of the Covaxin vaccine, reported by an official of the Ministry of Health.

Testifying before the commission of inquiry, the latter said he had been subjected to "atypical pressure" to approve the importation of doses of Covaxin that he considered overcharged.

According to the newspaper

O Estado

de S. Paulo, the Indian laboratory Bharat Biotech initially offered the vaccine at $ 1.34 per dose.

But Brazil agreed to pay $ 15, more than for any other vaccine it has ever bought.

For two months, the Senate Commission of Inquiry has been looking into the government's management of the health crisis that has killed more than half a million people in Brazil, a country of 212 million inhabitants.

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  • Covid 19

  • Coronavirus

  • World

  • Vaccine

  • Brazil

  • Jair Bolsonaro