Despite saying we were going to take a break today, a national holiday, the news simply won’t stop in Brazil. Today, we analyze the impeachment process against Rio de Janeiro Governor Wilson Witzel.
What will happen to Rio Governor Wilson Witzel?
Wilson Witzel had barely settled into his office as governor of Rio de Janeiro when he began planning his 2022 presidential campaign. Now, it seems that Mr. Witzel’s term might not even last until the end of the Covid-19 crisis, as state lawmakers voted 69-0 to open impeachment proceedings against him. Just two weeks ago, the governor was targeted by a Federal Police operation and is suspected of taking kickbacks from companies that siphoned part of Rio’s coronavirus budget.
- Investigators believe the kickbacks were paid through a law firm belonging to Helena Witzel, Rio’s first lady. That was exactly the modus operandi used by Sergio Cabral, a former Rio governor caught by Operation Car Wash — and now doing time for multiple corruption convictions. In fact, all Rio governors elected since 1998 — excluding Mr. Witzel — have spent time behind bars.
- Mr. Witzel denies any wrongdoing and has called the investigation a “political hit job” orchestrated by...