Political tension on the horizon
The testimonies given today by Ministers Augusto Heleno (Institutional Security Office), Braga Netto (Civil House) and Luiz Eduardo Ramos (Government Secretariat) may be decisive in the inquiry opened at the Supreme Federal Court (STF) to investigate the accusations made by former Minister Sergio Moro. However, after Moro’s testimony, the hearings of former director general of the Federal Police (PF) Mauricio Valeixo, the director general of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin), Alexandre Ramagem, and the former superintendent of the PF of Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Ricardo Saadi, did not present much new information, so it is unlikely that Heleno, Braga Netto and Ramos will add to the problems of President Jair Bolsonaro.
A video of the cabinet meeting on April 22 was also shown to Sergio Moro at the PF Criminology Institute in Brasília (DF). The recording was cited by Moro as proof of Bolsonaro’s alleged attempt to intervene in the PF. The question now revolves around whether the video will be released to the public. If the cabinet meeting is made public, there may be some political wear on Bolsonaro.
Another problem may arise for Bolsonaro with the STF. It was decided today that it will be up to Minister Ricardo Lewandowski to decide on the request of the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo for access to the president’s coronavirus test.
There are also challenges for the president in his relationship with the Minister of Health, Nelson Teich, and governors.
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