RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil’s Senatorial Committee (CPI), investigating the coronavirus pandemic’s handling, sent a letter to President Jair Bolsonaro asking him to address the allegations surrounding an allegedly shady, overpriced deal to purchase the Covaxin immunizer.
“Silence creates a disturbing situation,” the Covid CPI stressed. But Bolsonaro was blunt: “I shit on the CPI.”
As per the testimony of Deputy Luís Miranda and his brother, Bolsonaro was told dubious negotiations were going on. He reportedly turned a deaf ear.
The Indian-made vaccines were the most expensive drugs of that kind, which suggested bribes were involved; other testimony also gave evidence of bribes.
The CPI wanted Bolsonaro to testify “on the statements made by Deputy Luís Miranda” and “lift the terrible weight of this grave suspicion from the shoulders of Deputy Ricardo Barros.”
According to the Miranda brothers, Bolsonaro had been warned about possible illegalities and even the involvement of Barros in the scheme. Now, the CPI is working to investigate whether Bolsonaro committed the crime of malfeasance by not ordering a police investigation into the alleged fraud.
Meanwhile, Barros insisted he was eager to testify as soon as possible and even asked the CPI to reschedule his appearance for the earliest moment possible. He is scheduled for July 20.
He added that “I am not going to respond to that type of people in any hypothesis; they are not concerned about the truth; they are concerned about wearing down the government.”
The purchase of Covaxin vaccines never took place.