In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro was accused of falsifying Covid-19 vaccination certificates.

Is this one step closer to prison? Brazilian Federal Police officially recommended the indictment of Jair Bolsonaro on March 19. The former president is suspected of having ordered the falsification of Covid-19 vaccination certificates to favor himself and his relatives. Facts that could get the far-right leader up to twelve years in prison.

A massive police report has been made public, targeting sixteen people suspected of inserting false information into a public health database. Beneficiaries include Jair Bolsonaro, but also his daughter Laura, now 13, as well as Rio de Janeiro's deputy, Guttemberg Reyes, soldiers and some advisers.

According to investigators, the operation was ordered by Jair Bolsonaro's former aide and loyal right-hand man, Mauro Cid, and would have been planned for the end of December 2022, a few days before his decision. Ordinance, on 1^R January 2023. The false documents were produced by the Duque de Caxias city hall in Rio's northern suburbs, whose officials are affiliated with the far right. The former president and his daughter's certificates were issued on the same day and within a very suspicious ten-minute interval.

Take refuge before the people rise

For Bolsonaro, an emergency was clear. The far-right leader, who refused to attend the inauguration of his successor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, decided to leave Brazil on December 30, 2022 for Florida in the United States. Providing a vaccination certificate against Covid-19 may still be required by US customs, however, according to the BBC Brazil site, there were exceptions for people holding diplomatic passports, such as the former president.

However, the police went further and tied a link between the “certificate issue” and coup plans being prepared by the ruling clan by the end of 2022. “Pending the conclusion of actions related to a new coup d'état (…) must have the necessary documents to meet possible legal requirements for entry and stay abroad”, the report explains. In short: seeking safety and shelter in the United States before a far-right popular uprising that could overthrow Lula and his government.

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