Brazil Senate goes back work after high-profile Covid party

After the House Speaker and Supreme Court Chief Justice contracted Covid-19 at a Brasilia party alongside peers, the Senate returns to in-person sittings

Senate covid — Senators during a session at the Foreign Affairs Committee. Photo: Edilson Rodrigues/Ag.Senado

Sep 21, 2020 14:45 3 min read

After a six-month coronavirus hiatus, the Brazilian Senate is once again holding in-person sittings. And the upper house hasn’t beaten around the bush, approving a request to summon Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo to provide clarifications about the visit of the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the Brazil-Venezuela border.

But while a return is necessary — Congress has conducted its debates and votes remotely, but the pandemic has halted all activity in issue-based committees — it seems ill-timed. Senators are returning to meet in person just 12 days after a massive dinner party held at the official residence of House Speaker...