Jair Bolsonaro received a fake vaccination card “in his hands.” With this statement as a basis, the Federal Police of Brazil presented charges of fraud against the right-wing former president as part of the investigation of an illicit network in which the military, advisors, politicians and doctors allegedly participated to falsify covid-19 vaccination cards in order to circumvent health regulations during the pandemic.
According to the police indictment, Bolsonaro and 16 other people close to him inserted false information into the public health database before the then president traveled to the United States in December 2022, when the assumption of power was just a few days away. of the current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The police found sufficient evidence to prosecute Bolsonaro and the other 16 involved for crimes of criminal association and insertion of false data in the public information system.
The objective of the illicit conduct was to make it appear that Bolsonaro – who during the pandemic mocked the virus and vaccines -, his 13-year-old daughter and other people in his circle had been vaccinated against Covid-19.
In official records it was stated that Bolsonaro received two doses in an outpatient clinic, but those data were later deleted. Police say the allegedly false vaccination information was uploaded to the system and subsequently deleted “to eliminate traces” of possible “criminal behavior.”
According to the newspaper Or Globe, Mauro Cid, Bolsonaro's former aide-de-camp and considered his right-hand man and who has a rewarded denunciation agreement with the authorities, confessed that he received the order from the former president to put false vaccination information in the health system so that he and his daughter, Laura Bolsonaro , 12 years old appeared as vaccinated at a time when some countries required the document for a visitor to enter.
The case had already been a headache for Bolsonaro in May 2023, when the police searched the former president's house in Brasilia as part of this case and then arrested six suspects, including Cid. When questioned, the former president denied having committed any crime.
Bolsonaro needed a vaccination certificate to enter the United States, where he remained for the first three months of Lula da Silva's term.
Daniela Neves, doctor in Political Science and specialist in elections in Brazil, comments that the police accusation is relevant for two aspects. “First of all, the case of falsification of vaccination records alone would show an abuse of power and evidence of a criminal act. In addition, it helps reinforce the thesis that there was a coup d'état plan and with it measures to protect oneself from guilt, such as going to the US,” she tells Trade.
Bolsonaro's defense argued, for its part, that the former Brazilian president did not need the document to travel abroad and, therefore, he did not order anyone to falsify it. If any person included false information in their vaccination certificate or that of their family, “they did so on their own initiative and without authorization from the former president”said a statement released by the Brazilian leader's lawyers.
What's coming now?
The accusation of the Federal Police, collected in a 231-page report, will now be analyzed by the Prosecutor's Office, which will decide whether or not to file a formal complaint against Bolsonaro before the Supreme Court.
If federal prosecutors decide to move forward with the case, it will be the first time the former president faces criminal charges. In fact, the accusation by the Federal Police is the first time that criminal investigations against Bolsonaro have moved towards these types of charges against him.
The sentence for falsifying health data could reach between two and 12 years in prison, said legal analyst Zilan Costa quoted by the AP agency. The maximum penalty for criminal association would be four years in prison.
The Department of Justice's response may identify new unlawful conduct.
Neves emphasizes that the investigations of the Federal Police will follow a procedural path, with the defense, the analysis of the Public Ministry and the presentation of charges, or not, before the courts. “Most cases end up before the Supreme Court, which tries the accused,” he says.
“In this way, there is still a way to go before the case reaches the Supreme Court, what happens will depend on the content of the complaints and the performance of the former president's defense,” he adds.
In parallel, The Brazilian press reports that the Federal Police is waiting for information from the United States to find out if Bolsonaro used a false vaccination certificate to enter that country, which could represent new charges against him.
“The Department of Justice's response may identify new unlawful conduct,” according to police.
The other cases against Bolsonaro
This is not the only legal problem that Bolsonaro faces. The former president is investigated in other processes, among them for the attempted coup d'état carried out by his supporters on January 8, 2023 in Brasilia, shortly after Lula da Silva's swearing-in.
The Supreme Electoral Court has already ruled against Bolsonaro by deciding to disqualify him from running for elected office until 2030 for abuse of power during the 2022 campaign. and for sowing unfounded doubts about the electronic voting system.
The former president is also being investigated for allegedly trying to bring two sets of diamond jewelry into the country from Saudi Arabia and preventing them from being added to the presidency's public collection.
“There are several accusations that, combined with allegations, premises and evidence, make the legal situation of former President Bolsonaro increasingly complicated,” concludes Neves.
EL COMERCIO (PERU) / GDA
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