Presidential candidate Romeu Zema of the Novo party said on Monday (24) that he opposes mandatory vaccination, promised amnesty for those convicted over the January 8 attacks and once again denied that there was a coup attempt under former president Jair Bolsonaro. The statements came in an interview with TV Globo's Jornal Nacional, which opened the Brazilian network's series of interviews with presidential hopefuls.
According to Folha de S.Paulo, Zema said it is wrong for a family to be persecuted for choosing not to get vaccinated. "Turning that into a crime is not something that can happen in a democratic country," said the former governor of Minas Gerais, after noting that he took every dose of the Covid-19 vaccine during the pandemic. Brazil has no law making vaccination compulsory, although refusal can carry administrative consequences, such as companies that sidelined unvaccinated employees during the pandemic. Live coverage by g1 showed the issue came up amid a measles outbreak in São Paulo and falling childhood vaccination rates in the country.
Amnesty and January 8
If elected, Zema promised to grant amnesty to those convicted for the attacks of January 8, 2023, when Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalized the seats of Congress, the presidential palace and the Supreme Court in Brasília. "Nowhere in human history has there been a coup attempt carried out as an act of vandalism like the one that happened in January 2023," he said, according to Folha. In a passage highlighted by CNN Brasil, the candidate added: "Were any shots fired? There was no movement. In my opinion, it was an entirely political trial."
"I will grant amnesty or, at the very least, a judicial court rather than a political one. What we saw in Brazil was persecution," Zema said of the rulings of the STF, Brazil's Supreme Court. According to CNN Brasil, he also disagreed with the crimes attributed to Bolsonaro and said he trusts the electoral system, while arguing that electronic voting machines would be more credible with printed ballots.
According to Folha, the remarks reinforce Zema's campaign strategy of attacking Supreme Court justices, whom he calls "untouchables" or a "caste" that acts above the law. A campaign jingle posted on the candidate's social media shows AI-generated images of justices Gilmar Mendes and Alexandre de Moraes dressed as inmates, next to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).
Zema was the first of six candidates interviewed by TV Globo between August 24 and 29, according to g1. The network invited the best-placed contenders in the August 14 Quaest poll, and the order was set by a draw. He is followed by Ronaldo Caiado (PSD) on Tuesday, Renan Santos (Missão) on Wednesday, Lula (PT) on Thursday, Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) on Friday and Augusto Cury (Avante) on Saturday. Zema left the Minas Gerais governorship in March to run for president.