It has become a cliché to say that the pandemic has precipitated processes that already existed. For Richard N. Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, “Covid-19 will not so much change the basic direction of world history as accelerate it.” In the case of Brazilian politics, this accelerated history means a faster process of political degradation. On September 17, a grand total of three separate impeachment proceedings will be voted on by legislators — which could result in the ousting of two state governors and one mayor.
To borrow from Tolstoi, every administration close to impeachment is crumbling in its own way. So we break down what is at stake here.
Suspended Rio Governor Wilson Witzel
Of all high-profile politicians facing impeachment, none looks more doomed than Rio de Janeiro’s suspended Governor Wilson Witzel. He is accused of siphoning funds from the state’s Covid-19 emergency...