Brazil's Senate begins probe into government's pandemic response amid record dip in Bolsonaro's approval ratings

Brazil’s Senate on Tuesday began a probe into President Jair Bolsonaro’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

On Tuesday, Senate leader Rodrigo Pacheco claimed that a congressional enquiry into Bolsonaro administration’s response to the pandemic would also probe how resources were distributed among states.

Brazil is witnessing a deadly wave of COVID-19 infections and with it Bolsonaro’s disapproval ratings have reached record levels.

The investigation is known as CPI in Portuguese can trigger a number of actions including forwarding a potential wrongdoing in law enforcement. Many pro-Bolsonaro lawmakers have urged for an enquiry into each state’s response to the pandemic, which the Senate leader has said could trespass the jurisdiction of state assemblies.

Brazil is currently fighting rising infections, most of which have been attributed to the so-called P1 variant, believed to be more infectious by medical professionals.

On Tuesday, the country witnessed 3,808 deaths according to country’s Health Ministry. The total death toll in the country now stands at 358,000, the second-highest in the world after the United States.

The country’s current wave is affecting youngsters more, with over 50 per cent intensive care beds under the occupancy of patients under 40 years old, as revealed in a study published by the Brazilian Association of Intensive Medicine.

Bolsonaro has faced criticism for his pandemic response. In the early phases of the pandemic, he had referred to COVID-19 as a “little flu”.

In addition, he has ignored suggestions by health experts to wear masks while opposing implementing lockdown measures.

(With inputs from agencies)