Nicknamed the “father of soy,” agro tycoon Argino Bedin largely remained silent on Tuesday during a hearing at Brazilian Congress’s parliamentary inquiry into the January 8 riots. He was the only alleged private funder of the putschist demonstrations in Brasília to be subpoenaed by the inquiry, which is about to expire prematurely.
The congressional committee was created with a lifespan of six months, and is set to expire on November 20. However, the committee’s chair, Congressman Arthur Maia, has pledged to put the final report to a vote on October 18 — almost a full month earlier.
Recent decisions by Supreme Court justices appointed by far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro thwarted part of the committee’s investigation.
Justice André Mendonça waived the subpoena of Army Lieutenant Osmar Crivellati, a former staffer of Mr. Bolsonaro’s and currently under investigation by the Federal Police concerning the Saudi jewels case.
Justice Kassio Nunes Marques canceled a similar subpoena of Marília Ferreira Alencar, former undersecretary of intelligence in Brasília. She told a separate select local legislature inquiry in March that the capital’s security department was informed on January 7 about the possibility of an upcoming riot, with warnings of demonstrators clashing with police. The information is damaging to the pro-Bolsonaro opposition, which seeks to...
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