SAO PAULO (AP) – A Brazilian Supreme Court judge on Thursday ordered the Senate to investigate the government’s management of the coronavirus crisis and the plenary ruled that churches could be reopened during the pandemic, threatening to tighten tensions between President Jair Bolsonaro and the judiciary.
Judge Luis Roberto Barroso’s order for an investigation in the Senate came just minutes after the entire court upheld the power of local authorities to prevent churches and other houses of worship from being opened.
Bolsonaro has downplayed the coronavirus threat, arguing that the economic and emotional impacts of the shutdowns would hurt more Brazilians than the pandemic. He has occasionally found out the controls and balances of other branches of government and has repeatedly criticized the Supreme Court for maintaining the power of governors and mayors to impose restrictions on economic and personal activity during the pandemic. Last year he attended protests against the court.
The Conservative president, a proud Christian who has the support of some of the country’s top evangelical leaders, has opposed locally imposed blockades and other restrictions that health experts have said were very necessary to stop the virus from spreading. In recent weeks, Brazil has become the epicenter of the pandemic crisis, accounting for more than a quarter of global deaths from COVID-19.
“The investigation will call for scientists from all over Brazil to prove the irresponsibility of the president’s statements. It will be made more difficult for him. Public opinion will be heard in the Senate,” said Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University. “It was inevitable. The time had come for the political system to react.”
With the increase in the number of deaths in the country – among the 345,000 dead there are three senators – more than the 27 necessary senators had already signed a request for research in Congress on the management of the pandemic by the administration, but to move forward it needed the approval of the speaker of the chamber, the senator. Rodrigo Pacheco. Pacheco, who won his leadership position in January with the support of Bolsonaro, had refrained from provoking the investigation.
“It simply came to our notice then. That’s what I think, “Pacheco told reporters in Brasilia after the judge’s order.” This investigation at this point will be out of bounds. It could crown national failure in this pandemic. “
Pacheco said an investigation will inevitably lead to the 2022 presidential race in which Bolsonaro is expected to seek re-election, giving opposition senators a platform to attack the leader and potentially accuse him of committing crimes.
The Senate needs to examine how the government dealt with the COVID-19 crisis and could make new criticisms of Bolsonaro. If senators decided there was something criminal in the response, the Senate would have to ask the federal attorney general to open his own investigation.
The resolution on houses of worship does not prevent local authorities from allowing churches to reopen, and some have already done so.
But the court acted after Judge Kassio Marques, the only member of the court appointed by Bolsonaro, allowed churches across Brazil to reopen on Saturday as long as they followed health protocols. Many churches opened on Easter Sunday, some without observing social distancing.
Marks was disqualified by his teammates in a 9-2 vote that culminated Thursday.
Judge Gilmar Mendes said during his vote that Brazil has become “an international pariah in health care.”
“Brazil, which was once a role model in public health, in vaccination campaigns, is in this highly embarrassing situation today,” he said.