BRAZIL
Déjà vu
Brazil’s Supreme Court greenlit an investigation into President Jair Bolsonaro, accusing the leader of interfering with federal police probes, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.
The 60-day probe will investigate allegations of corruption and obstruction of justice by Bolsonaro and will likely plunge the country into a political crisis as it grapples with an escalating outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
Last week, popular Justice Minister Sergio Moro resigned after accusing the president of firing the country’s top police official to hinder investigations into his family and his supporters.
Two of Bolsonaro’s sons are under investigation for embezzlement.
Bolsonaro denied the allegations, adding that it is within his power to choose the nation’s police chief, who serves at his pleasure.
Moro’s departure has split the president’s conservative support base. Meanwhile, his accusations could form the basis for an impeachment trial against Bolsonaro.
If such a proceeding were to occur, Bolsonaro could become the country’s third president to be removed from office since the end of Brazil’s military dictatorship in the 1980s, most recently in 2016.
No comments:
Post a Comment