“Only God takes me out of the presidency”: Bolsonaro’s challenge to court grows

BRASILIA.- The Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, expressed his irritation with a judge of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) who asked for an explanation on the delay in the implementation of an impeachment procedure against the president, amid the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in this South American country.

“This news has reached me now, I don’t think it’s true… by God. The news read: “ Judge Carmen Lucia [Antunes] He is giving the Speaker of the House, Arthur Lira, five days to explain why he has not opened impeachment proceedings against Bolsonaro, ”the president said.

After reading the note, Bolsonaro looked at the camera and tossed the paper in the air with a disgruntled gesture. “I’m only saying one thing: only God is removing me from the presidency”, he challenged last night during his usual live broadcast on social networks.

The judge’s decision comes as a parliamentary commission of inquiry (ICC) has just been created in the Senate to clarify possible “omissions” by Bolsonaro in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Brazil is the second country in the world with the most deaths from the virus (more than 365,000), only behind the United States.

“There are really very bad things that have been going on in Brazil for a long time, we will see if Arthur Lira makes this process happen”, commented the president.

Among the impeachment demands presented to MPs, there are several that accuse the president of alleged “genocide” due to his measures regarding the Covid-19 pandemic.

One of them was former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who admitted the possibility of being a candidate in 2022 against Bolsonaro, whom he called a “fascist”, after the STF quashed the charges. against him, thus recovering his political rights. “If necessary, I will be a candidate to win the elections before a fascist named Jair Bolsonaro, a genocide, who is most responsible for the chaos of the coronavirus pandemicLula said in statements released by the UOL news portal.

The leader of the Workers’ Party (PT) clarified that he would not run “necessarily” in 2022, and that his priority is to join forces with other parties to confront Bolsonaro.

ANSA Agency

THE NATION