Brazil's Bolsonaro faces probes over $3.2M Saudi jewels

BRASILIA - Brazil's justice minister asked federal police Monday to investigate reports ex-president Jair Bolsonaro tried to illegally import jewelry worth $3.2 million gifted by Saudi Arabia, as tax officials probe a second present of jewels.

The far-right former president has faced mounting questions over the jewels since newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo reported Friday that customs officers blocked an aide to his former mines and energy minister, Bento Albuquerque, from bringing them into Brazil without paying the required import duty after an official trip in October 2021.

According to the newspaper, Bolsonaro administration officials intervened at least eight times to try to convince customs officers to release the diamond jewels -- a necklace, a ring, a watch and a pair of earrings from Swiss luxury house Chopard -- that had been given to the president's wife.

Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing.

"They're accusing me over a gift I neither requested nor received. There was no illegality on my part," he told CNN Brasil on Saturday from the United States, where he has been living since two days before his leftist successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, took office on January 1.

The scandal deepened Monday when Brazil's tax agency said it had opened its own investigation over reports Albuquerque's delegation entered the country with a second, previously undetected set of jewels, also a gift from the Saudi government.

Albuquerque mentioned the second set of jewels -- a watch and a pen, also made by Chopard -- in an interview with Estado de Sao Paulo.

"The incident could constitute a violation of customs law for failure to declare goods and pay the required duties," the tax agency said in a statement, vowing to take "all necessary measures" to enforce the law.

Brazilian media reports said the second set of jewels had been handed over to the presidential palace's official collection on December 29, 2022.

Under Brazilian law, travelers entering the country with goods worth more than $1,000 are required to declare them.

The first family would then either have had to pay import duty on the jewels -- equal to half their value -- or give them to the presidential palace collection as official gifts to the nation.

Agence France-Presse

Protesters in Brazil demand Bolsonaro's impeachment

RIO DE JANEIRO - Tens of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets around the country Saturday, once again calling for the ouster of unpopular President Jair Bolsonaro over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, among other issues. 

Large crowds gathered in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Brasilia and dozens of other towns and cities as part of the "Bolsonaro Out National Campaign," which is backed by a dozen left-wing political parties and labor groups.

Among other issues, the right-wing president has come under stinging criticism for his handling of the pandemic, which has claimed nearly 600,000 lives here.

Hundreds of people marched through the central Rio de Janeiro neighborhood of Candelaria, shouting "Bolsonaro out!" which was also emblazoned on several large banners. 

"We're going to get him out. The hope of the people here in the streets is to put pressure on legislators so that they call for impeachment," 69-year-old retired professor Elizabeth Simoes told AFP. 

More than 100 requests for the impeachment of Bolsonaro have been filed with the Chamber of Deputies, but its leader Arthur Lira, a government ally, has refused to take any of them up. 

The Supreme Court has ordered several investigations into Bolsonaro and his aides, including for spreading false information.

In Sao Paulo, tens of thousands of people gathered Saturday afternoon on the central Paulista Avenue, including former cabinet minister Ciro Gomes.

"Bolsonaro is destroying the national economy," said the center-left politician, calling for unity. "He fills Brazil with shame abroad and is responsible for the death of almost 600,000 Brazilians" from COVID-19.

Meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators gathered along the Esplanade of Ministries in Brasilia.

Local media counted protests in 24 of Brazil's 27 states, and in 84 cities, including 14 state capitals.

Red flags of the Workers' Party of former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, or Lula, could be seen Saturday, along with Brazilian flags and the signs of several other left-wing and centrist parties often seen at protests against the far-right Bolsonaro.

- 'Can't stand this government' -

In recent months, protests led by leftist movements have demanded Bolsonaro's impeachment due to his mismanagement of the pandemic. But Saturday's demonstrations were also against a hike in food and fuel prices, as well as for relief for the 14.1 million unemployed people throughout the country.

"The population is going hungry, and we can't stand this government any longer," said Isadora Lessa, 22, in Rio.

"What is the importance of being here? That he knows he doesn't have unanimity, that he's going to have a hard time getting elected again," said Marcelo Werneck, who joined the protests in Rio in memory of the "friends and family" who died of COVID-19.

"If he doesn't face an impeachment, he loses the election in 2022," Werneck added.

Besieged by judicial investigations and the economic crisis, Bolsonaro's popularity has plummeted in recent months to 22 percent, its lowest level since he took office in January 2019.

But backers of the president have also made themselves known in recent weeks, as around 125,000 of them gathered in Brasilia and Sao Paulo September 7 in a show of support for Bolsonaro. 

A mid-September opinion poll by the Datafolha Institute found that Bolsonaro has 26 percent support compared with Lula's 44 percent, just one year ahead of the presidential vote. 

Agence France-Presse

Bolsonaro seeks Israeli anti-COVID nasal spray for Brazil

BRASILIA — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Monday his government would seek emergency use authorization for an Israeli-developed nasal spray against COVID-19 that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a "miracle" treatment.

"EXO-CD24 is a nasal spray developed by the Ichilov Medical Center in Israel, with nearly 100-percent effectiveness -- 29 out of 30 -- against COVID in serious cases," Bolsonaro tweeted, two days after speaking on the phone with Netanyahu, who calls the Brazilian far-right leader a "good friend."

"A request to analyze this medication for emergency use will be sent shortly to (federal health regulator) Anvisa," Bolsonaro wrote.

The Ichilov Medical Center announced two weeks ago that one of its researchers had carried out Phase One testing -- typically the first of three phases of clinical trials -- on a nasal spray he developed against respiratory symptoms linked to COVID-19.

The researcher, Nadir Arber, reported he had administered the spray to 30 patients with moderate to severe cases of COVID-19, and that 29 of them had been released from hospital in three to five days.

But the medical center did not say whether a placebo had been given to a control group, and has yet to publish its findings in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

In order to be accepted as effective by scientists, new treatments must generally undergo randomized, controlled, blind clinical trials that are then shared in a research publication.

However, that did not stop Netanyahu from hailing EXO-CD24 as a "miracle" drug last week.

Bolsonaro, too, has been eager to embrace experimental treatments against COVID-19, even when health experts question them.

A fierce critic of lockdown measures, which he says unnecessarily harm the economy, he has instead fervently pushed the anti-malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to fight Covid-19.

He took the latter himself when he tested positive last July, despite scientists' findings that the two drugs are ineffective against the new coronavirus.

Bolsonaro has sought to cultivate close ties with Netanyahu.

In one of his first moves after winning election in 2018, he vowed to follow the lead of his political role model, then US president Donald Trump, and move Brazil's embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem -- despite Palestinian claims to parts of the city.

Agence France-Presse

Gay Pride parade engulfs Sao Paulo despite unease over Brazil's conservative turn

SAO PAULO, Brazil — One of the world's largest LGBT Pride parades took center stage in Sao Paulo on Sunday, with the carnivalesque festivities tinged with unease over Brazil's conservative political climate under President Jair Bolsonaro.

Tens of thousands of people took part in the annual march through the heart of Brazil's economic capital, traditionally an exuberant celebration of camp, color and fantasy.

But this year, many participants said they were turning out because they feel their liberties are increasingly under threat.

"I came to fight against homophobia and disrespect," said 31-year-old Monique Barber, who said she faced verbal attacks at the start of the march.

"We have a homophobic politician and we are seeing things go backwards. Just imagine being attacked at the LGBT march itself," she said.

Bolsonaro, a right-wing ex-army officer who was elected president last year, has a long history of homophobic, racist and chauvinist remarks.

Since taking office January 1, he has doubled down on that anti-gay posture, calling a recent Supreme Court decision criminalizing homophobia "an error."

Bolsonaro, who is Catholic, has strong support from Brazil’s growing Evangelical community.

This week he became the first Brazilian president to join the annual "March for Jesus," also held in Sao Paulo, an event that attracts Evangelical faithful from around the country.

Marina Fernandes, 19, said she was taking part in the march for the first time in support of LGBT rights, although she identifies as heterosexual.

"I came because I feel empathy and because I believe in respect for others. You don't have to be homosexual for that," she said.

Nineteen sound vehicles ran the length of the parade route, laden with music acts that include Spice Girl Mel C, as well as the Brazilian performers Karol Conka, Iza and Luisa Sonza.

'50 Years Since Stonewall'

This year's theme is "50 Years Since Stonewall," in tribute to the protests at a New York gay bar in 1969 that helped launch the modern LGBT rights movement.

Pedestrian crossing lights on Paulista Avenue were retouched for the event; instead of the traditional red and green, they flash same-sex couples.

A medical station displayed enormous rainbow decorations, and some businesses joined in, draping storefronts with the movement's symbolic colors.

"Prejudice has a cure, through education," read a sign borne alongside the parade's lead sound truck.

"I define myself as powerful," said a smiling Jonathan Alves, 27, ducking discussion of his sexual preference.

Wearing black pants and bra, his lips daubed with pink lipstick, Alves said he had overcome his fears to take part in the march for the first time.

"You have to come because it helps you accept yourself. Some people hide their entire lives and it's important to accept yourself, and even more so to show that we are no different," he said.

Brazil under Bolsonaro is a scary place, said demonstrator Felipe Ferreira, 27.

"We have a homophobic government that promotes and facilitates the carrying of weapons. A president that does not believe that homophobia is a crime, and who empowers intolerant people," he said.

Ferreira, who lives in the Sao Paulo area, said that the LGBT community outside of the big cities is extremely vulnerable.

"Just holding hands with your partner could cost you your life," said Ferreira, who was shirtless and had a rainbow flag tied around his neck.

source: philstar.com