The Brazilian Parliament's Commission of Inquiry into the Covid Pandemic (CPI) has given the green light to the conclusions of an investigation in which it seeks the indictment of President Jair Bolsonaro for nine crimes related to his management of the emergency, including "crimes against humanity ".
After dozens of hearings, the CPI approved, with seven votes out of 11, the report - presented last week by rapporteur Renan Calheiros - which accuses the government of having "deliberately exposed" Brazilians to "mass contamination".
The head of state would have consciously decided not to take the necessary measures against the epidemic, trusting in the achievement of a herd immunity, a "high risk" strategy.
Also denounced the "deliberate delay" in the acquisition of vaccines: the executive would have preferred to promote ineffective treatments, such as hydroxychloroquine, with "tragic consequences" for the population and would not have promptly supplied the Amazonian populations with oxygen.
At the end of the vote, a minute of silence recalled the 606 thousand citizens who died from coronavirus.
The report also calls for the indictment of around 80 officials, including ministers, former ministers, companies and Bolsonaro's three eldest sons. It will have to be submitted to the competent prosecutor, directed by a person close to the president, Augusto Aras.
Meanwhile, the head of state continues to declare himself innocent: "We know we have done the right thing from the beginning," he said last week.
The charge of "crime against humanity" could end before the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
(Unioneonline / F)
