The report of the Investigation Committee of the Brazilian Senate recommends prosecution of President Bolsonaro, including 9 counts of crimes against humanity
[Global Times Comprehensive Report] According to Brazil’s Sao Paulo Page on the 28th, the Brazilian Senate’s committee responsible for investigating the government’s response to the epidemic has submitted an investigation report to the Federal Attorney General’s Office on the 27th, suggesting that it should include "crimes against humanity." The 9 counts of criminal prosecution against President Bolsonaro.
According to the report, 7 of the 11 senators on the committee voted for the 1,288-page report.
Through a six-month investigation of the Brazilian government’s anti-epidemic measures, the report concluded that because Bolsonaro despised the new crown pneumonia epidemic and ignored expert advice, he should be prosecuted for nine crimes, including “anti-humanity, abuse Public funds and incitement to crime" etc.
It is reported that due to the involvement of "crimes against humanity", the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands will also receive this investigation report.
The report also calls for the prosecution of 77 other people, including several ministers of the Brazilian government and three children of Bolsonaro.
Reuters said on the 28th that after receiving the epidemic investigation report formally approved by the Senate, Brazil’s Federal Attorney General Arras said on social media on the 27th: “The COVID-19 Epidemic Investigation Committee has reached a conclusion. We will advance the investigation in the future. Judicial allegations, criminal proceedings, and more in-depth investigations." As of the press release, Bolsonaro has not commented on the allegations, but he has criticized the Senate investigation several times before and called it a "joke." .
French TV 24 said that Arras is an ally of Bolsonaro, who was appointed as the Federal Attorney General in 2019. It is generally expected that he will not prosecute Bolsonaro.
Moreover, according to the analysis of The Washington Post, even if Arras agrees to bring charges against Bolsonaro, the possibility of ultimately prosecuting Bolsonaro is very small, because according to the procedure, the case will be transferred to the House of Representatives, requiring at least 2/ 3 members of the House of Representatives voted yes.
But reports say that the Speaker of the House of Representatives Artur Lira is also an ally of Bolsonaro.
Reuters said that although the Senate’s allegations may eventually go away, its investigative report may weaken Bolsonaro’s re-election campaign in next year’s general election.
According to a poll released by Brazil’s largest polling agency Datafolha in mid-September this year, 53% of Brazilians believe that Bolsonaro is a “bad or bad” president, and his disapproval rate has reached the highest level since he took office in 2019. .
According to Reuters, the Speaker of the Brazilian Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, joined the center-right Social Democratic Party on the 28th, becoming the latest candidate to take the centrist route in next year’s general election.
Although neither Pacheco nor former President Lula has officially announced their intention to run for the election, polls show that 70% of Brazilians will choose one of the two as the first candidate for the president, and Lula supports The rate is higher.
(Hao Shuangyan)