June 26th, 2020.
Good evening.
President Jair Bolsonaro has officially appointed Brazil’s new Minister of Education: 67-year-old Carlos Alberto Decotelli, a former professor and Navy reserve officer will be the third minister in office during Bolsonaro’s administration. Attorney Frederick Wassef has stated, during an interview with Veja magazine, that Fabrício Queiroz, the former aide to senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who was arrested at his Atibaia property during an investigation on graft charges, that he was trying to protect the Bolsonaro family. Justice Luiz Fux has been elected president of Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court for two years, replacing Dias Toffoli, and has already signed his intentions of establishing a closer relationship with the other branches of government. The Brazilian Army declared it has ceased the production of chloroquine, after disclosing it already has a stockpile of 1.8 million pills of the drug. Finally, the Iranian state media has announced the country’s government is investigating a huge explosion near the capital, Tehran, allegedly close to the site where nuclear warheads were being tested.
Take a look at our highlights.
Carlos Alberto Decotelli appointed as new Education minister
Navy reserve officer and professor Carlos Alberto Decotelli da Silva has been appointed as Brazil’s new Minister of Education. The announcement was made by president Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday, through his social media accounts, and has already been published in the Federal Gazette. 67-year-old Decotelli is the third minister to occupy the position during Bolsonaro’s administration. In his first interview after being appointed, the minister said he wishes to increase dialogue with municipal and state education secretaries, as well as the Brazilian Congress, especially regarding the federal fund destined to education professionals, FUNDEB.
Wassef says he sheltered Queiroz to “protect” the Bolsonaros
Lawyer Frederick Wassef has said he sheltered Fabrício Queiroz, former aide to senator Flávio Bolsonaro, arrested during a graft investigation, in order to protect Flávio’s father, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, and his family. Queiroz was found by the police at a property in Atibaia which belonged to Wassef, where he had been hiding for one year, according to witnesses. In an interview with Veja magazine, the attorney said “hidden forces” had put a price on Queiroz’s head, and that his death would then be pinned on the Bolsonaro family. He also claimed to still be unable to reveal the reasons behind this plot. “I did it to protect Flávio, to protect myself, to protect the president,” he added. A recent poll has shown that 64 percent of all Brazilians believe the president knew about Queiroz’s whereabouts.
Fux elected president of Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court
After a voting held on Thursday, justice Luiz Fux was elected president of Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court for the next two years. Signaling he intends on building bridges between the court and the Armed Forces and the Planalto Palace, at a moment of crisis between all branches of government, Fux has already reached out to generals and members of president Jair Bolsonaro’s ministerial cabinet. “I promise my colleagues to fight wholeheartedly to keep the Federal Supreme Court at the highest level of Brazil’s institutions. I’ll always strive for moral and republican values, fighting for democracy and respecting the independence between the branches of government, within the limits of the Constitution and the law, so help me God,” he said.
After amassing 1.8 million pills, Brazilian Army ceases chloroquine production
The Brazilian Ministry of Defense announced that the country’s Armed Forces will halt their production of chloroquine. According to their latest report, there are currently 1.8 million pills of the drug in stock at the Army Laboratory, a volume 18 times greater than the annual production of the medication, originally destined to treat malaria. One million of them have been channeled to the Ministry of Health. Chloroquine currently has no scientific proof of its efficacy in the treatment of COVID-19, even though the government destined funds and time into its production, a strategy which has been widely criticized by the scientific community and Brazil’s Prosecutor’s Office.
Iran investigates Tehran explosion, says state media
Iranian authorities are investigating what appears to have been a strong explosion near the country’s capital, Tehran, on Thursday evening, according to the state TV channel. The semi-official news agency ISNA informed that a gas tank belonging to a unit of the Ministry of Defense blew up, but no one was injured in the incident. The Persian news channel Manoto, headquartered in London, mentioned information from an inside source that an industrial gas tank exploded in the public area of Parchin, and that the incident had no relation with the military bases located in the region, where Iran allegedly tested explosive components for a nuclear warhead in 2012.
