Brazil: NGOs call for impeachment of Economy Minister for actions during pandemic

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A group comprising over 200 civil society entities on Thursday, December 9, filed a motion to impeach Minister of Economy Paulo Guedes at the Chamber of Deputies for dereliction of duty during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Among the main reasons cited by the Rights Are Worth More Coalition, Dhesca Brazil Platform and the Black Coalition for Rights, are that the Minister failed to foresee spending on the fight against the disease in the 2021 Budget, and that he suspended the payment of emergency aid in October 2020.

Over that month, Brazil recorded over 720,000 cases and 16,000 deaths from the disease caused by the coronavirus, according to data from the media outlet consortium.

“Hindering Brazilians’ access to a minimum income was a deliberate strategy to prevent and discourage social isolation measures, patently violating the fundamental and social rights provided for in the Constitution – which qualifies as dereliction of duty,” Eloísa Machado, an attorney representing the Rights Are Worth More Coalition, said in a statement.

The groups also mention the complaint made to the Senate Parliamentary Inquiry Committee (Covid CPI) that the Ministry had intervened with the health insurance company Prevent Senior to promote the use of ineffective drugs, and that Guedes had undermined the institutions’ ability to protect the environment.

Any citizen may file a motion to impeach to the Chamber of Deputies. It is up to the Chamber President to analyze the complaint. If accepted, the complaint proceeds to a special committee made up of all parties. If the group finds the motion admissible, the investigation to confirm the accusations begins, such as hearing witnesses.

The report of this investigation is then voted on in the House plenary, where it must secure at least 342 votes. The motion is then considered by senators, and requires at least 52 votes to finally remove the accused from office.

Last month, the STF (Supreme Court) shelved a motion to impeach Guedes, after he missed a meeting to explain discrepancies in Social Security data pointed out by the Federal Audit Court (TCU). In the same month, the Minister appeared before the Chamber of Deputies to clarify his personal investments abroad.