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In
an annual report on rights abuses around the world, the
Washington-based group urged Brazil's Supreme Court, Congress
and other democratic institutions to remain vigilant and resist
any attempt by Bolsonaro to undermine the October elections.
"President Bolsonaro tried to weaken the pillars of democracy,
attacking the judiciary and repeating baseless allegations of
electoral fraud,' said Maria Laura Canineu, Human Rights Watch
director in Brazil.
His government has promoted policies contrary to human rights in
various areas, including indigenous peoples' rights, women's
rights, the rights of those with disabilities and freedom of
expression, the report said.
Bolsonaro has promoted bills to deny the rights of many
indigenous peoples to their traditional lands and, in practice,
legalized illegal mining in those territories.
During his administration, deforestation in the Amazon has
skyrocketed to the highest level since 2006, as shown by the
government's own data, Human Rights Watch said.
The president's office did not answer a request for comment on
the rights report. Bolsonaro plans to seek re-election in
October, though he has not formally declared his candidacy.
HRW said Bolsonaro has continued to spread false information
about COVID-19 vaccines after a Senate inquiry found his
government has jeopardized the health of Brazilians by
disregarding science-based measures to contain the virus and by
promoting drugs with no proven efficacy.
Bolsonaro has also encouraged police violence and defended a
bill that makes it harder to hold police officers accountable
for abuses, it added.
Police lethality reached a record in 2020 in Brazil, with the
highest number of deaths resulting from police action since the
indicator started to be monitored, the report said, adding that
80% of the victims were black.
His government has also pursued criminal investigations against
political critics, including with the use of the National
Security Law of the 1964-1985 military dictatorship that he
defends, it said.
(Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Sandra Maler and
Bernadette Baum)
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