This week, a series of crucial hearings in the Senate’s Covid inquiry. Brazil on alert amid Indian variant fears.
Crunch time for this week’s Covid hearings
Last week, the Senate’s Covid hearings committee saw lawmakers hurl insults at one another and even threaten to arrest a former presidential press secretary for perjury. But the next few days are expected to be even more explosive still. The inquiry will gather the depositions of former cabinet members Ernesto Araújo (Foreign Affairs) and Eduardo Pazuello (Health) — both of whom are considered to be liabilities for the Jair Bolsonaro administration due to their political ineptitude and short tempers.
- The pair will face hours of questions from savvy politicians gunning for the federal government.
What to expect. Mr. Araújo will appear before the committee on Tuesday, while Mr. Pazuello’s deposition is scheduled for Wednesday. On Thursday, the inquiry will question Mayra Pinheiro, a lower ranking Health Ministry official who became known as “Captain Chloroquine.”
- Ernesto Araújo. The former Foreign Minister will be questioned on how he helped (or hindered) Brazil’s effort to secure international contracts for vaccines and inputs. Throughout the process of securing critical health supplies from abroad, lawmakers saw Mr. Araújo’s...