Brazil President Bolsonaro downplays Senate inquiry, calls pandemic charges 'fantasies'

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday, October 21, that charges recommended by a Senate report against him were "fantasies" that should be ignored. The report presented on Wednesday, October 20, alleged Bolsonaro committed crimes against humanity, among other proposed charges, for bungling Brazil’s response to COVID-19 and contributing to the country having the world’s second-highest pandemic death toll.

“I am not going to discuss these people’s fantasies. I am not going to discuss this load of stupidity,” Brazil's president remarked, during a live broadcast, AP reported. 

It was the Brazilian president's first speech since the release of the report of the Senate committee's investigation. The investigation by the committee lasted six months. Renan Calheiros, the report's rapporteur, asked for Bolsonaro's indictment on counts ranging from charlatanism and encouraging crime to misappropriation of public funds and crimes against humanity.

Bolsonaro’s COVID-19 denial

Bolsonaro has reportedly downplayed the pandemic's severity despite overwhelming evidence of its danger, for instance -- he has been seen defying social isolation measures by walking among crowds and shaking hands, and encouraging others to do the same; he has feuded with and fired health ministers since the beginning of Pandemic. AP reported, in an interview on March 27th, on being asked about the rising number of cases in São Paulo, Bolsonaro replied, "I’m sorry—some people will die. They will die. That’s life. You can’t stop a car factory because of traffic deaths." 

Governors of numerous Brazilian states chose to take matters into their own hands after Bolsonaro looked more interested in protecting Brazil's long-ailing economy and political future. Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, for example, had declared emergencies, stopped flights, constructed field hospitals, and even imposed harsh restrictions on citizen movement against the federal government's intentions. Bolsonaro, then, reacted furiously to the restrictions, claiming on March 22 in a television interview that the people will soon understand that they were duped by these governors and a major part of the media when it comes to coronavirus.

Congressional panel blames Bolsonaro administration for COVID deaths

The Congressional panel condemned the Bolsonaro administration of "reckless behaviour" and blamed it for half of the COVID deaths in the Senate report. The document, presented on Wednesday, discusses the government's "intention to immunize the population through natural contamination," according to CNN. It blames Bolsonaro and his party's lawmakers, including his three sons, for exposing Brazilians to a concrete risk of enormous infection.

The report suggests that the incumbent President and 69 other politicians, including several former lawmakers, face criminal prosecution. It's worth remembering that the right-wing politician drew a lot of heat for downplaying the infectious sickness, which sparked a slew of protests around the country. The South American country has reported a total of 21,664,879 COVID cases, with more than 603,855 fatalities, according to the most recent John Hopkins University figure.

(With inputs from agencies, Image: AP)