Home Politics Investigation into the abuse of power by President Bolsonaro launched

Investigation into the abuse of power by President Bolsonaro launched

The Brazilian Supreme Court has given the green light to an investigation into the abuse of power by President Bolsonaro. He is accused of interfering in police investigations into his family members. The federal police are now given 60 days to investigate the allegations.

This is being done at the request of the Public Prosecution Service, which urged the investigation after allegations by the recently resigned Minister of Justice Moro. After his resignation, the popular former minister lashed out at Bolsonaro, with whom he enjoys a lot of support. According to Moro, Bolsonaro wanted to influence ongoing investigations into his sons.

Moro, who made his name as the investigative judge behind the largest corruption investigation in the country’s history, stepped down because the chief of the federal police was fired. He was a confidant of Moro and Bolsonaro would have wanted to get rid of him, as he preferred a police chief from whom he could get information about ongoing investigations.

Moro’s departure and the charges against Bolsonaro’s address come at a bad time for the President. He was already under attack for his laconic attitude to the coronavirus, which has claimed more than 4,500 lives in Brazil. With the departure of Moro and the accusations against Bolsonaro’s address, a political crisis has arisen.

After the police investigation into Bolsonaro, the Public Prosecution Service has to determine whether the president will be charged. An official indictment must first be approved by parliament, where Bolsonaro is the majority. That makes approval unlikely. A trial would follow before the Supreme Court.

In that case, Bolsonaro’s duties would be temporarily performed for up to 180 days by Vice President Mourão. A conviction would remove the President from office.

Bolsonaro dismisses all charges. A poll shows that the majority of Brazilians believe that the allegations against Bolsonaro are true. 46 percent think they should step down, 50 percent think they shouldn’t.


About the author: Rick Culpepper

Rick Culpepper is of those journalists who dig the topic to the very bottom. He is often late with the delivery of the piece, but always does it perfectly. In his spare time, he collects data for one of the most high-profile investigations of corruption in the EU.

Load More Related Articles
Load More In Politics

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *