All the Defense Minister’s Men

The Covaxin vaccine scandal has rarely been far from Brazil’s front pages since it broke in late June. Involving dodgy vaccine purchase agreements between the Health Ministry and questionable pharmaceutical firm Precisa Medicamentos, Covaxin-gate has been the subject of much investigation by the Senate inquiry probing the federal government’s pandemic response.

The case is convoluted, involving a web of interlocutors, would-be lobbyists, and suspicious firms. And much of what the public knows of the scandal has been gleaned from the testimonies of suspects linked to the case. But, there is one common thread in the Covaxin tapestry: all of the military officials involved in the affair are linked to Defense Minister Walter Braga Netto.

Indeed, investigations by The Brazilian Report and data analysis consultant Ananias Queiroga de Oliveira Filho show that key government figures involved in Covaxin-gate have been close allies of Mr. Braga Netto since he led the Army’s Eastern Military Command and headed the federal military intervention in Rio de Janeiro and Olympic Games security operations in 2016.

An Army general, Mr. Braga Netto worked as President Bolsonaro’s Chief of Staff between February 2020 and March 2021 before he was ushered into the Defense Ministry. With his prominent role, he was responsible for many of the federal administration’s principal anti-Covid measures, such...