BRAZIL
A Pat on the Back
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro secured a victory after two candidates he supported will preside over Brazil’s bicameral legislature, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
Congressmen Arthur Lira and Rodrigo Pachecho were elected – respectively – as the leaders of the lower house and the senate, a move that will facilitate Bolsonaro’s efforts to push forward his reform agenda while also blocking any impeachment attempts.
Both leaders have rejected calls to impeach the president over his poor handling of the coronavirus pandemic: Brazil is one of the hardest-hit nations in the world with more than nine million confirmed cases and 225,000 deaths.
Lira and Pacheco also said they would consider approving new measures to help the poor during the pandemic: That will increase public spending just as the country posted its largest budget deficit ever last year.
Analysts noted that their election marks a victory for the embattled Bolsonaro, who suffered a major setback when candidates he backed performed poorly in municipal elections last year.
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