MPs bid to impeach president over COVID-19 response

Opposition lawmakers in Brazil launched a fresh bid to impeach President Jair Bolsonaro as more allegations broke of corruption in acquiring coronavirus vaccines to tackle a pandemic he is accused of having criminally mishandled, AFP reported.

A document signed by dozens of leftwing political parties, trade unions and civic organizations, as well as a few former allies, was submitted to the chamber of deputies.

It listed more than 20 accusations against Bolsonaro, including “negligence” in heading the response to COVID-19 that has killed over 500,000 in Brazil.

The document gathered more than a hundred earlier impeachment filings into one “super request” for Bolsonaro to be relieved of his post, its authors said.

For two months, a senate commission investigating the government’s handling of the pandemic has heard a parade of witnesses testifying how the far-right leader and his government blatantly flouted expert advice on containing the virus.

Bolsonaro minimized the virus as a “little flu,” fought lockdowns, questioned face masks and rejected various offers of vaccines, meanwhile pushing unproven drugs such as chloroquine and urging Brazilians to get back to work.