Lawsuits against Bolsonaro’s Coronavirus Response Jam Courts, Pressure Prosecutor General

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In addition to contaminating thousands of people in Brazil, the coronavirus pandemic has flooded the desks of judges, appellate courts and higher tribunals with lawsuits ranging from the release of prisoners to requests for investigations into President Jair Bolsonaro. There are more than 20 lawsuits dealing with Covid-19 at the Fedeal Supreme Court (STF).

In the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), there have already been 1,145 single-judge decisions on the issue by Wednesday, April 1st. In lower courts, there are hundreds of lawsuits. There are even cases brought by political opponents of the Bolsonaro administration to the United Nations and to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Within this picture, one of the first to be pressured by this unusual flood is Federal Prosecutor General (PGR) Augusto Aras.

Indifferent to all criticisms, the President challenged the Judiciary on Thursday, April 2nd. He stated that he is considering signing a decree to end the quarantine of businesses determined by mayors and governors as a measure of social isolation. “I have a decree in front of me considering all activities that are needed to take bread home as essential”.

He also said he will sign it if “the time comes”. And he implied that he will be retaliated against if he reopens trade: “I know that there is a risk of lawsuits, even to remove me if I do this. As long as the STF or the Legislature do not topple it, commerce would remain open”. The president once again criticized the minister of health, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, saying he lacked “modesty” in his position and that he should listen more to what he, the President, says.

In recent days, the head of the PGR (Federal Prosecutor General) has had his independence and impartiality challenged by attorneys and experts, since he never was a candidate in the Prosecutor’s Office’s internal election to choose nominees for the body’s highest office.

Aras holds his position because he lobbied the President. “From the way he was brought to office, it feels like Prosecutor Aras owes the president favors. Now, we will be able to see how great his independence is,” said Afrânio Silva Jardim, a professor at the State University of Rio de Janeiro and plaintiff in a criminal complaint against the President.

This legal instrument allows any citizen to alert the Prosecutor’s Office that crimes are being committed and the prosecutors are not yet acting as they should. It is a form of social pressure.

As an attempt to reduce impacts on the judiciary, Aras met on Thursday with the Minister of Health, Luiz Henrique Mandetta. Both signed a cooperation agreement for the Health Ministry to provide information on what is being done to substantiate the lawsuits that prosecutors may potentially bring.

The Prosecutor General also said he would allocate the resources for leniency agreements and plea bargains to the health area. According to Aras, R$2.5 billion from one of these agreements has already served that purpose.

At the STF, there are at least five criminal cases brought by groups of attorneys, NGOs and politicians against Bolsonaro. They accuse the President of having committed a crime against public health called “preventive health measure violation” and also incitement to this crime.

The first is provided for in Article 268 of the Criminal Code. In case of conviction, the sentence ranges from one month to one year in prison. The second is provided in Article 286, with detention from three to six months, plus a fine. All alleged crimes are based on the fact that the President has on several occasions encouraged non-compliance with guidelines issued by Brazilian and international health authorities, such as social isolation and the need to prevent crowds from gathering.

Bolsonaro made a national televised speech on March 24th challenging this measure, posted videos on his social media and gave interviews downplaying the severity of the disease.

In addition, on March 15th, when the spread of the disease was on the rise in Brazil and the first cases around the President were recorded, he greeted hundreds of supporters protesting on his behalf in Brasília. And on March 29th, he engaded in similar behavior, travelling through at least three administrative regions in the Federal District where he also had contact with dozens of people.

Faced with the political isolation he has lately suffered and the string of lawsuits he may face, Bolsonaro slightly softened the tone of his speech on Tuesday night, addressing the pandemic as one of the main challenges of the current generation. He stopped calling it “the flu”. He did not, however, direct the population to remain in isolation.

The first defeats to the Bolsonaro government have already come through the Federal Supreme Court. Last week, STF Justice Barroso banned a governmental advertising campaign that defended the economy, advocated the suspension of quarantine enforced by states and municipalities, and said nothing about health concerns.

On Wednesday, another Justice, Alexandre de Moraes, granted the Bolsonaro government 48 hours to establish measures to contain the novel coronavirus in Brazil, following the WHO recommendations, and further banned the President from interfering in the technical performance of the Ministry of Health.

Step by step

In practice, if Prosecutor General Aras considered that Bolsonaro had committed a crime, he would have to ask the Chamber of Deputies for permission to investigate the President. This is similar to what happened with former President Michel Temer, who had two requests for investigations shelved by congressional deputies.

At first, the crimes with which Bolsonaro has been charged would not be sufficient to warrant a motion for impeachment, since they are not impeachable crimes. Even in the event of conviction, the President could not be arrested, due to the position of President he holds. However, this does not prevent him from being investigated, indicted and convicted.

Despite the social pressure, the inclination is that Aras will not pursue the criminal cases. In an interview, the head of the PGR denied that he was being negligent in this crisis, said he can go to court against the President if he issues a decree determining vertical isolation and that he does not see, for the time being, any irregularities committed by the President. “The President has freedom of speech and enjoys certain immunities,” he said.

Before this public demonstration, the Prosecutor General had already shelved a request from five deputy prosecutors to investigate Bolsonaro. Aras’ co-workers felt that the President’s speech on March 24th discredited measures to fight the coronavirus, risked disrupting the health authorities’ efforts, and cautioned that he may have incurred a “purposeful deviation”.

Co-plaintiff in one of the criminal lawsuits against Bolsonaro, Eloisa Machado, an attorney and teacher at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, voiced concern over the Prosecutor General’s stance. In an interview, Machado said the PGR is “tamed by an authoritarian government”.

Aras promised to issue an opinion on a number of these cases later this week.

Source: El Pais