As COVID-19 Escalates, Bolsonaro Is Confronted With Moments of Crisis
"The people are with us, the armed forces who are in line with the law, order, democracy, and freedom are also on our side," Bolsonaro declared to a sea of protesters huddled together. Many of whom are not wearing PPE as they chant and raise Brazilian flags.
On Sunday, Brazilian President Jair Bolosonaro was greeted by thousands of his supporters outside the presidential palace, calling for the restoration of the military regime in the nation and a stop to the quarantine initiatives implemented to curb the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
The Crisis of the Brazilian President
Bolsonaro terminated a prominent political figure, Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta in mid-April, after the dispute over initiatives to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
Like many other medical professionals, Mandetta had proposed implementing social distancing all around the country- a proposal Bolsonaro strongly opposed. Mandetta, who was removed from office by the president, was replaced with an enthusiast for reopening the country, causing rallies by citizens banging out of windows and balconies seeking Boslonaro's resignation.
Bolsonaro, who pointed to the COVID-19 as "a little cold" and associated with his supporters lacking a face mask, claimed that quarantine initiative's economic effects would be more lethal than the disease itself.
Moreover, Bolsonaro has also strongly urged his people to ignore the social distancing policies imposed in place by governors, insisting on people to come back to work and engage in public gatherings, despite the total of COVID-19 reports in the country reaching 100,000, with even more than 7,900 fatalities.
In late April, Sergio Moro, Bolsonaro's justice minister, withdrew accusing the president of meddling in an investigation as well as removing the head of federal police for political and personal motives.
Bolsonaro denied the allegations against him by Moro and claimed he has the power to expel federal police authorities. Yet the Supreme Court ordered an investigation regarding accusations that Bolsonaro was attempting to meddle for political purposes in the operation of the nation's federal police force.
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Bolsonaro May Not Be Impeached
Amid the problems and concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, some experts claimed that while Bolsonaro may walk a fine line, he is not under immediate threat of impeachment.
The lower house of Congress will have to authorize a president's impeachment before the Supreme Court could push forward with a jury. Nevertheless, Bolsonaro's supporters govern the House, as well as impeachment, which is unlikely to be approved.
"He is not very vulnerable," Thiago de Arago, Director of Strategy at Arko Advice, stated. "He still has a level of popular support and alliances in the parliament that protect him against impeachment, but this can change, the more he challenges the severity of the virus and the more the virus shows its severity, this will lead him to become further weakened."
Some note, nonetheless, that it could only be a matter of time before Brazil experiences a significant turning point, one in which countless lives and the presidency of Bolsonaro may be at risk.
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