Impeached Rio de Janeiro Governor Wilson Witzel appeared before the Senate’s Covid inquiry this morning, in order to clarify allegations of pandemic mismanagement while he was still in office. Officially ousted on corruption charges in April of this year, Mr. Witzel denied all accusations and claimed he was the target of “retaliation” from the federal government, linked to investigations into the assassination of Rio de Janeiro city councilor Marielle Franco, in 2018.
In 2019, the Rio state police arrested a suspect believed to be the gunman in Ms. Franco’s murder. Former military policeman Ronnie Lessa was a neighbor of President Bolsonaro’s, raising questions of the First Family’s potential involvement in the assassination.
According to Mr. Witzel, he was impeached “after asking for an impartial investigation into Marielle [Franco]’s death.”
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