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Protest against President Bolsonaro in Rio de Janeiro (July 3rd)
Photo: Andre Coelho / EPA
Things are not going well for Jair Bolsonaro.
For weeks, thousands have been demonstrating across Brazil against his government's catastrophic pandemic management, and the president has recently also been targeted by corruption investigators.
It is about the allegedly overpriced procurement of corona vaccine.
Now one of the leading daily newspapers in Brazil is also distancing itself from Bolsonaro.
"President Jair Bolsonaro no longer fulfills the conditions for remaining in office," wrote the conservative newspaper "O Estado de São Paulo" in a comment.
The paper is one of the highest-circulation in the country, and in the past it had been rather cautious about Bolsonaro.
According to the Guardian, despite Bolsonaro's repeated anti-democratic attacks, the newspaper did not oppose the election of the right-wing extremist.
Bolsonaro has been under pressure for a long time.
His poll numbers continue to crumble, at the weekend, dissatisfaction with the head of state rose to over 50 percent for the first time, according to a survey by the Datafolha Institute.
Datafolha is part of the Folha Group, a media group that also publishes the influential daily newspaper "Folha de S. Paulo".
Majority for impeachment proceedings against Bolsonaro
According to the survey, for the first time a majority of Brazilians spoke out in favor of impeachment proceedings against Bolsonaro.
The approval rate for the 66-year-old remained unchanged at 24 percent.
In December 2020 it had reached a high of 37 percent, and has been falling continuously since then.
An impeachment process is now also calling for "O Estado".
"The threat to our institutions and democracy must stop," the comment said.
Bolsonaro behaves like a "spoiled child" who is now being haunted by "a series of moral, political, criminal and administrative misfortunes."
Meanwhile, there is growing concern among observers that Bolsonaro will not be able to recognize the outcome of the presidential election next year regardless of a possible previous disempowerment. Most recently, Bolsonaro had indicated in an interview that he would not accept the result if votes were to continue to be counted with computers. According to current surveys, it looks bleak for the right-wing ex-military: He would currently come to around 25 percent, his left challenger and main rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, on the other hand, is 46 percent.
Bolsonaro recently mocked a recently convened parliamentary committee of inquiry, which is supposed to clarify what responsibility the government has for the corona pandemic with more than 500,000 deaths to date.
In a video message on Thursday he said verbatim: "I give a shit about the committee of inquiry."
The chances that Bolsonaro will actually be impeached are slim.
To do this, the President of the Chamber of Deputies would have to respond to one of the more than 120 impeachment motions that have been submitted to date.
However, Speaker of Parliament Arthur Lira is considered an ally of Bolsonaro.
fek / AFP