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By La Croix International staff | Brazil
The Catholic bishops conference of Brazil has blamed the Jair Bolsonaro government for the mismanagement of the pandemic and the tardy progress in vaccination, marred by graft charges.
"The tragic loss of more than half a million lives is compounded by allegations of embezzlement and corruption in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic," the bishops said in a statement, pontifical news agency FIDES reported.
To date, 537,394 Brazilians died due to COVID-19, a disease President Bolsonaro once called "a little flu."
Bolsonaro had refused to comply with basic health measures, fought lockdowns, questioned the use of face masks, refused to avoid crowds -- despite he himself and several cabinet members falling victims to COVID-19.
Failure to contain the coronavirus resulted in more than 19,209,729 infections, with an average of 1,270 deaths per day, according to the South American country's health department.
In terms of deaths, Brazil comes second as the U.S. continues to be the worst-hit country with 608,104 deaths.
A probe is on in the Brazilian Senate to find out whether Bolsonaro and health ministry officials committed a crime in dealing with the pandemic.
A health ministry employee testified July 5 that he had been pressured to purchase 400,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, routed through a businessman to the Brazilian government, at an inflated price.
In their statement the bishops sought "free and impartial investigation of all complaints."
Noting that Brazil is going through one of the difficult periods in its history, the bishops stressed on the need to "defend lives at risk, rights not respected and to support the restoration of justice, while upholding the truth."
The vaccination campaign, started after much dilly-dallying by the president, has not covered more than 15 percent of the 210 million population in the country.
A scam has been unearthed with evidence of overpayments and corruption in buying India's Covaxin vaccine.
The $15 a dose contract signed by the Bolsonaro government has turned into a full-blown scandal. Three Brazilian senators have formally accused Bolsonaro of malfeasance before the Supreme Court.
A Senate commission has concluded that Bolsonaro knew about the suspected $300 million deal for the Indian-made vaccine.
Church leaders in Brazil have been opposing government's lopsided health policies.
When in the second week of June Brazil become the epicenter of the pandemic in the world with 493,693 deaths, Auxiliary Bishop JoelPortellaAmado ofSãoSebastião do Rio deJaneiro, general secretary of the bishops conference said, "[The] 500,000 is a symbolic number, but half a million people are still many."
Catholics in Brazil held a special day of prayer for pandemic victims June 19 across all the 267 dioceses in the country.
"It is an act of solidarity, of hope, of commitment, to try to make Brazil a little better," said Bishop Portella Amado.
Calling for the president's prosecution
Nation-wide demonstrations and protests against Bolsonaro continue so also the demand for his prosecution and impeachment.
Bolsonaro already faces more than 100 impeachment requests in the Congress, the country's legislative body.
However, the polarizing president has been shielded by his alliance with the powerful "Centrao," a coalition of conservative parties.
A poll conducted by Datafolha stated July 10 that for the first time a majority of Brazilians are supporting prosecution of Bolsonaro.
In the poll, 54 percent respondents proposed impeachment process against the president by the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house.
In the earlier Datafolha survey in May, supporters and opponents of impeachment of Bolsonaro were evenly divided.
Bolsonaro is expected to face a challenge from former left-wing leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva when Brazil heads to polls next year to choose the new president.
Since July 14, Bolsonaro is undergoing treatment in a military hospital in the capital Brasilia due to persistent hiccups and abdominal pain.
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