RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Some members of Congress may have finally decided to act following Jair Bolsonaro’s latest breach of decorum, when he, on February 18th, sexually insulted journalist Patricia Campos Mello, who is investigating his campaign’s fake news scheme; women will be the main players in the proceedings.
The leading female deputies and senators of the National Congress are considering for the first time the prospect of drafting a motion to impeach Jair Bolsonaro.
The reason: Bolsonaro committed an impeachable “crime of responsibility” by violating the decorum of his position, attacking Folha de S. Paulo’s reporter Patrícia Campos Mello, who is investigating the fake news scheme used in his presidential campaign. While supporting Bolsonaro’s neoliberal project, Folha de S. Paulo has conceded on Tuesday that Bolsonaro has exceeded all boundaries and breached decorum.
Recently, the Workers’ Party’s (PT) female congressional caucus expressed solidarity with journalist Patrícia Campos Mello in a video on social media, and announced that a note of repudiation will be submitted to the President of the Chamber, Rodrigo Maia, over the barbarities directed against the journalist in the exercise of her job.
In an interview with TV 247, deputy Maria do Rosário (PT-RS) said that the potential for a motion to impeach is still under consideration, but that for the first time the debate arises among the opposition deputies with greater substance. “Maybe these attacks have crossed a line now,” she said.
During an interview outside the Alvorada Palace, Bolsonaro insulted the reporter with a sexual insinuation. “She [reporter] wanted a scoop. She wanted to scoop at any cost.” [Scoop in Portuguese is “furo” which also means a drilled hole.].
In a statement, Folha said: “The president attacks reporter Patrícia Campos Mello and all professional journalism with his attitude. He also violated the dignity, honor and decorum that the law requires of the Presidency”.
(Source: Brasil247)