Corruption in the purchase of vaccines in Brazil: justice is investigating whether the Bolsonaro government demanded a bribe of one dollar per dose

The Brazilian Federal Prosecutor’s Office has ordered the opening of An investigation against the government for allegedly charging $ 1 for each AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine as part of negotiations to purchase the vials. According to the agency, The actions “carried out by the then director of logistics, the Ministry of Health Roberto Ferreira, and other senior officials for their alleged demand for an undue economic advantage of $ 1 per dose of vaccine” will make the under investigation.

In a statement, the prosecutors specified that the indications of administrative irregularities will be analyzed within the framework of the negotiations with Luiz Paulo Dominguetti, supposed representative of the company Davati Medical Supply, in charge of the supply of the vaccines.

Ferreira thus indicated that “the opening of an investigation by the federal prosecutor’s office to investigate the alleged corruption request is understood as a unique opportunity to clarify the facts”, according to information from the G1 information portal.

The former director of logistics was fired on June 29 after Dominghetti gave an interview to the newspaper ‘Folha de Sao Paulo’ in which he assured that health ministry logistics chief Roberto Ferreira Dias demanded a bribe of $ 1 per dose from a company official who allegedly negotiated the sale of 400 million AstraZeneca vaccines to the government.

Dominguetti Pereira, assured that the arrangement, proposed in February, had been rejected by his company.

The US-based Davati company said it was contacted by a representative in Brazil to help with the purchase of vaccines and sent a proposal to Brasilia to secure the acquisition, but there was no no formal answer.

According to Dominguetti Pereira, an alleged representative, the Brazilian official demanded illegal payments from him during a dinner in Brasilia in February. “To work in the ministry, you have to come to terms with the group,” said Ferreira Dias.

The Anglo-Swedish laboratory AstraZeneca denied for its part, in a press release cited by the portal G1, use intermediaries to deal with governments.

The case revealed by leaf joins other allegations of irregularities investigated by a parliamentary committee (ICC) set up by the Senate to investigate the failure of the official response to the pandemic, which has already claimed more than half a million lives in Brazil.

Demonstration against Bolsonaro

Tens of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets of several Brazilian cities again this Saturday to demand the impeachment of President Jair Bolsonaro, increasingly worn out in particular by its chaotic management of the pandemic.

It is the fourth day of protests called by political parties, unions and left-wing social movements against the president, who is also under investigation by the prosecution for allegedly failing to report suspicions of irregularities in the negotiation of anti-covid vaccines.

One of the marches that started earlier, of the more than 400 called in cities and municipalities of Brazil and abroad, was that of the center of Rio de Janeiro, where thousands of people made their blame felt the “day of the union of the country for the defense of democracy, the life of Brazilians and those outside Bolsonaro”, according to the organizers.

Protesters, mostly dressed in red and wearing masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, wore banners with slogans such as “Hang out with a corrupt criminal”, “No one can take it anymore”, Out with Bolsonaro and “Revolutions are impossible until they become inevitable,” AFP confirmed.

Until noon they had taken place protests in at least five state capitals, including Recife (northeast) and Bethlehem (north), with criticism of the late vaccination campaign and skyrocketing unemployment and calls for increased emergency aid to the poorest during a pandemic.

In the afternoon, demonstrations are planned in other capitals, including Sao Paulo, usually the busiest, and Brasilia.

Bolsonaro, also criticized for his speech in favor of the exploitation of the Amazon’s protected areas, including indigenous reserves, his arms policy in Brazil and his ambitious privatization program, is living his worst moment since coming to power in 2019.

His popularity is at an all-time low, 24%, and polls indicate that in presidential elections in October next year he would be defeated by his biggest rival, left-wing former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. , including the Workers’ Party (PT) It is one of the big promoters of the demonstrations this Saturday.

The opposition presented a “super impeachment request” on June 30, which condenses a hundred impeachment requests already presented to the Chamber of Deputies with more than 20 different accusations against the president.

But for now, Bolsonaro has enough backers in Congress to block these impeachment initiatives, including the backing of the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, who is the one who must follow through on such demands.

With information from Europa Press and AFP

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