Highly anticipated, the event was of paramount importance. He has turned into the tragicomic play. Thursday, May 20, ended the hearing of the former Minister of Health, Eduardo Pazuello, called to testify before a parliamentary committee investigating the catastrophic management of the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil. Broadcast live by many major media, the performance was not stingy in twists, scandals and incidents of all kinds.
The first act takes place on May 4, the day before the initially scheduled hearing of this active general, with responsibilities from May 2020 to March 2021 (period during which 300,000 Brazilians succumbed to the virus). But Mr. Pazuello, ” very nervous “, according to the press, at the idea of being heard by the commission, composed of eleven seasoned senators, is portrayed pale and announces being a contact case of Covid-19 – disease, which he has already contracted in 2020. He obtains a postponed to May 19.
The delay is profitable: on May 14, Mr. Pazuello obtains from a judge of the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court a habeas corpus, giving him the right to remain silent during his hearing in the face of specific questions that could potentially incriminate him legally. . Reassured, the ex-minister affirms that he will go well in front of the senators and suggests that he will perform his “grand oral” in military uniform. Under pressure from the general staff, he finally gave it up.
Suspicion of fraud
Last episodes of this rich novela: on May 18, the Globo channel reported suspicions of fraud, concerning contracts signed by the Ministry of Health during the time of Eduardo Pazuello, for a sum of 30 million reais (4.6 millions of euros). Is it this revelation that will make the general lose all his means? On the 19th, after an exhausting first day of hearing, the former minister was the victim of discomfort and “Momentary loss of consciousness”, according to the press. The hearing is again postponed until the next day …
Beyond all these twists and turns, what to remember from the general’s performance? During two days, Mr. Pazuello gave himself two objectives: to relativize his responsibility in the current drama and to protect President Bolsonaro from any future accusations. And too bad if for that it was necessary to align during long hours a not insignificant quantity of lies and untruths.
Chloroquine, the merits of which Pazuello praised for months? “No sir, I never recommended it to be used!” “, supported the person concerned. The drama of Manaus, where dozens of patients died in January due to a shortage of oxygen? “On our side, we have been very proactive”, answers the general, throwing the responsibility on the local authorities. The lack of negotiations with the big pharmaceutical companies for the purchase of vaccines? “A minister cannot receive companies, you should know that! “, he replies awkwardly.
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