Brazil’s Covid hearings at a crossroads

After three weeks of tense depositions, members of the Senate’s Covid hearings committee have realized the sheer magnitude of the task at hand. With multiple testimonies still to come, there is still a huge amount of documents submitted by accountability agencies and federal and state governments left to pore over. The inquiry is also facing heightened public pressure, as over the past couple of weeks former government officials have lied under oath, been caught doing so, and have still been able to leave the committee scot-free.

The Brazilian Report spoke to members of the inquiry and their legislative aides, who say that lawmakers may have bitten off more than they can chew by taking on the responsibility of scrutinizing the government’s coronavirus response while also calling witnesses on their lies. This week, hearings rapporteur Senator Renan Calheiros even suggested the committee hire a real-time fact-checking agency to flag any inconsistencies as they appear.

Expected to be the high-point of the hearings so far, the two-day deposition of ex-Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello was more of an indictment of the committee than it was of Brazil’s former top health official. 

Mr. Pazuello led the Health Ministry during the worst stages of the pandemic and is facing criminal investigation for allegedly choosing not to act as hospitals ran out of oxygen supplies in northern city Manaus. Even with the added protection of a Supreme...