Analysis: Why is Brazil investigating Bolsonaro’s handling of Covid-19?

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Delayed vaccines, oxygen shortages, ineffective treatments against Covid-19. In Brazil, a committee is investigating the role of President Jair Bolsonaro’s government in one of the world’s worst coronavirus outbreaks.

Covid-19 is nothing more than a “minor flu” and Brazilians should “stop whining.” That’s the kind of reactions Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro has long had toward the current global pandemic. Under his leadership, the country has recorded the second highest number of Covid deaths in the world, with over 400,000 fatalities, while intensive care units are collapsing.

Now, a Senate inquiry committee (Senate CPI) is investigating his government’s handling of the pandemic. The outcome of this investigation, which began on Tuesday, April 27th, and will run for 90 days, could have a serious impact on Bolsonaro’s political future.

What exactly is the committee investigating?

The investigation’s main goal is to identify the people or authorities responsible for what critics describe as a failed response to the pandemic.

Many public health experts have blamed the Bolsonaro government. A study by the University of São Paulo and the human rights group Conectas even described his administration as an “institutional strategy to spread the coronavirus in the country.”

The committee has outlined 18 issues that it wants to investigate in order to draw its conclusions.

A major point is the rejection of some early vaccine offers, including BioNTech-Pfizer, as Brazil now struggles with vaccine shortages. Another question to be answered will be why the state pushed ineffective cures such as the so-called “Covid kit,” a cocktail of unproven drugs – such as hydroxychloroquine or anti-parasitic ivermectin – to treat the disease.

The investigation will also review the collapse of medical care in the state of Amazonas, where hospitals struggled without oxygen.

Who will be investigated?

The committee will question several ministers and government advisors. That includes Bolsonaro’s former health ministers, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, Nelson Teich and Eduardo Pazuello. All three held office at some point during the pandemic.

Pazuello, an Army general with no health experience and particularly loyal to Bolsonaro, could be one of the most important voices. But he has the right not to testify, so as not to incriminate himself, says Wallace Corbo, a legal expert at the Getulio Vargas Foundation.

“If Pazuello shares the information he has as someone who was in charge of the Ministry of Health during the worst moment of the Covid crisis, this could be of the utmost political relevance,” Corbo says. “If he chooses not to testify, the committee can still assess his actions as health minister and these actions may speak for themselves.”

What else can the committee do?

The committee has the same investigative power as a court. That means it can summon witnesses to testify, as well as request information and documents from public bodies, among other actions.

However, it does not have the right to issue a ruling or order arrests. Its purpose is merely to gather evidence and, if necessary, forward it to the public prosecutor and judicial authorities.

What does that mean for Bolsonaro and his government?

While, on paper, such investigations may not seem to mean much, they have “a tremendous potential to alter politics,” Corbo says.

In the worst-case scenario for the government, this investigation could conclude that Bolsonaro and/or his ministers were responsible for exacerbating the Covid crisis. Subsequently, the competent authorities could initiate criminal proceedings, or legislators could expedite one of the many impeachment petitions that have already been filed in the Chamber of Deputies.

But even if it doesn’t get to that point, the investigation could damage Bolsonaro’s image ahead of a potential re-election in 2022.

“Investigations create much visibility, sometimes more than a judicial proceeding. During trials, some of the information may be confidential, but investigations are much more accessible to the public,” Corbo points out.

This specific investigation could also attract much attention because it is a “tangible” problem, adds Magna Inácio, a professor of political science at the Federal University of Minas Gerais.

Previous investigations were ignored by many Brazilians because they addressed distant issues, such as the purchase of an oil refinery in the United States. But “this one is about something people experienced for themselves. Debates have a great potential for mobilization,” says Inácio.