Good morning! Vaccine scandals getting even deeper in Brazil, with major bribery allegations involving two different immunizers. The EU-Mercosur deal may not be doomed after all. Congress pushes to reduce the ‘Brazil Cost.’
New vaccine corruption allegations surface
On Tuesday evening, newspaper Folha de S.Paulo and online magazine Crusoé published new corruption allegations involving vaccine purchases within the Jair Bolsonaro administration. Both cases involve — directly or indirectly — Congressman Ricardo Barros, the government whip in the lower house.
Cash for jabs: Folha de S.Paulo spoke to a man who claims to be the representative of Texas-based company Davati Medical Supply LLC. He told the paper that he approached the Health Ministry’s logistics director Roberto Ferreira Dias in February, hoping to sell 400 million AstraZeneca vaccines at USD 3.50 a jab. According to this source, however, Mr. Dias demanded a bribe of USD 1 per dose on top of the contract.
- Roberto Dias was handpicked by the so-called “Big Center,” a group of parties which gravitate toward power and will form alliances with any sitting government in exchange for high-ranking positions. Obtaining these prominent administration jobs allows them political visibility and — as many past scandals have revealed...