The Brazilian Senate will open an investigation into the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, as President Jair Bolsonaro continues to avoid blockade measures despite the country’s death toll.
Earlier this week, Bolsonaro rejected criticism that it was “genocidal” in its opposition to Covid-19 restrictions, as the nation recorded the 24 deadliest hours of the pandemic. Bolsonaro downplayed the threat of the virus, saying the economic impact of the strikes would hurt Brazilians more than Covid-19.
Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Luis Roberto Barroso on Thursday ordered the Senate to create a commission of inquiry, following requests from 32 of Brazil’s 81 senators. Announcing the sentence, Barroso said Brazil is “at its worst, breaking unfortunate records of daily deaths and cases of infection.”
On Thursday, Brazil recorded more than 4,200 new deaths from Covid-19 in 24 hours, raising its total toll to more than 345,000, just after the United States.
Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco said he would comply with the order, but that the investigation could sabotage efforts to fight the pandemic and turn it into a “political theater aimed at the 2022 general election.”
The survey will examine the actions of former Health Ministers Luiz Henrique Mandetta, Nelson Teich, Army General Eduardo Pazuello and current Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga.
Barroso has called for the investigation to focus on the “actions and omissions” of the federal government, particularly in the state of Amazon. Several Covid-19 patients reportedly died in Manaus, the state capital, when hospitals ran out of oxygen earlier this year.
The Supreme Court also ruled Thursday that states and municipalities have the power to ban religious gatherings in person, an action Bolsonaro had strongly opposed.