Covid hearings fall for Bolsonaro ally’s trap

The Senate’s Covid hearings were supposed to have finished by now, but the investigation into the government’s pandemic response gained a new lease of life after revelations that Prevent Senior — one of Brazil’s fastest-growing HMOs — was conducting unethical studies using ineffective Covid treatments, comparable to the infamous 1930s-1970s Tuskegee Study in the U.S. On Tuesday, a lawyer representing former Prevent Senior physicians revealed details about the case — unraveling what appears to be one of the biggest health scandals ever documented in Brazil’s history.

And that is why the inquiry’s sitting the following day seemed so mind-boggling. 

Instead of tapping into this scandal — which evidence suggests has the government’s fingerprints all over it — the committee opted instead to subpoena a flamboyant businessman known for his absurd social media posts and unwavering support for President Jair Bolsonaro.

Rarely seen without his garish green and yellow suit-and-tie combination, billionaire Luciano Hang has become a folkloric character for some, and a laughing stock for others. The founder and owner of the Havan chain of department stores — earning him the nickname of “the Old Man from Havan” — Mr. Hang is under investigation by the Superior Electoral Court and Supreme Court due to his alleged involvement in funding illegal online troll armies...