April 10 (EINRS) – A justice of Brazil’s Supreme Court on April 8 approved a request by a group of Senators to establish a Parliamentary Investigative Committee (or CPI, for its Portuguese acronym), to investigate the Bolsonaro government’s catastrophic handling of the coronavirus crisis. The full court also ruled that churches can be barred from reopening during the pandemic. The church ruling will cause real political trouble in one of Bolsonaro’s biggest bases of support, evangelical Christians. But the Senate investigation is a far more serious threat to him: it may well become the focal point and catalyst of a growing national tide that is already demanding his removal for his utter failure to address the COVID crisis.
Justice Gilmar Mendes said during his vote that Brazil has become “an international pariah in matters of health care. Brazil, which was once a role model in public health, in immunization campaigns, is today in this highly embarrassing situation,” he said.
