House Speaker to Sit on Bolsonaro Impeachment Requests for Now
House Speaker to Sit on Bolsonaro Impeachment Requests for Now
(Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s Lower House Speaker Rodrigo Maia won’t immediately endorse requests to impeach President Jair Bolsonaro, according to three senior lawmakers close to him who asked not to be identified because the discussions are confidential.
At least two requests to impeach the president were presented to Congress on Friday after Justice Minister Sergio Moro resigned and accused Bolsonaro of trying to interfere in federal police investigations.
Maia is urging caution and pushing for Moro’s accusations to be fully investigated before he will make a decision on beginning an impeachment process, the senior lawmakers said. They added that Maia believes the timing for an impeachment in the short term is wrong, since Brazil is still struggling to handle the coronavirus pandemic.
Maia didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Moro, the former judge who gained superstar status for taking down a network of corrupt politicians and CEOs, accused the president of trying to meddle in police investigations. Bolsonaro called the accusations unfounded during a public address Friday afternoon.
The lawmakers behind the impeachment requests claim Bolsonaro has committed a crime by allegedly interfering in the Federal Police. Another two dozens impeachment requests, including for mismanaging the coronavirus pandemic and backing anti-democracy protests, lay in Congress, waiting for house speaker Rodrigo Maia to sign them off.
Two Brazilian presidents have been impeached since the early nineties.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.