Former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva once again blamed current head of state Jair Bolsonaro for Brazil’s shocking Covid-19 death toll – almost 500,000 lives have been lost in the South American country.
“I’m not one to lay the blame solely on one person, but Bolsonaro didn’t fulfil his presidential duty”, Lula, founder of the Workers’ Party (Partido de los Trabajadores – PT), told Radio Piauí during an interview.
Lula explained that, with over 477,000 confirmed Covid-19-related deaths, Brazil is unfortunately reaping what Bolsonaro has sown, and he must be arrested.
Lula argued that the current resident of the Planalto Palace (the seat of government in Brasilia) did not create a crisis committee to tackle the pandemic in a coordinated way, rejected vaccines, ignored – and continues to ignore – the seriousness of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus which causes Covid-19.
“We can see that Brazil did not fulfil its duties and we are now facing the consequences. I want to express my solidarity with the families of those who lost their lives because what has happened in this country is no small thing. And it is able to continue happening because the government continues lying”, Lula said.
For the former union leader, the government is not treating the people with respect and is acting irresponsibly “because the president of the republic does not have even an ounce of humanity”.
Against this backdrop, Lula said, “the institutions will have to take charge. Or we have a report by the Parliamentary Investigation Commission calling for Bolsonaro to be punished or for the Chamber of Deputies to initiate impeachment proceedings (a political trial) and submit them to a vote”.
In his opinion, fear of the virus kept the people at home and stopped them protesting, but they must “take to the streets and demand decent governance”.
He warned that “if Brazil continues at this level, it will remain a small country, without respect: it will not create the jobs we need, the revenue needed. Only the people can resolve the issue of Bolsonaro’s failure of governance”.
On the posibility of standing in next year’s elections, Lula reiterated that the most important thing now is to guarantee the vaccine for all and emergency assistance of 600 real (110 dollars).
But, he stated, if the PT wants and if there are political alliances and support at the state level, he will be a candidate.
“If I need to be a candidate in order to oust Bolsonaro, have no doubt that I will stand”, Lula said.
He also clarified that, at the age of 75, he enjoys good health and tries to physically and intellectually prepare to “fix everything that has broken, which is no small task”.
After the Supreme Court annulled all of Lula’s convictions in March, he regained his political rights and the opportunity to stand in the 2022 presidential race. (PL)
(Translated by Rebecca Ndhlovu – Email: rebeccandhlovu@hotmail.co.uk) – Photos: Pixabay
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