Brazilian senators accused President Jair Bolsonaro for “crimes against humanity.”
Earlier, they had dropped a recommendation from their draft report that he be charged with genocide and homicide over the handling of the country’s COVID-19 outbreak.
Senators leading the congressional probe met late on Tuesday to discuss a report prepared by opposition Senator Renan Calheiros, and agreeing to remove the homicide and genocide accusations due to what one senator called technical reasons.
The draft report still needs to be voted on by the Senate commission and could be vetoed and altered.
In practice, the senators’ decision changes little for Bolsonaro, who has dismissed the probe as politically motivated.
It is highly unlikely that the far-right politician will face trial on any such charges, which would have to be brought by Brazil’s prosecutor general, whom Bolsonaro appointed.
The findings of the congressional probe, however, underline the growing political isolation of Bolsonaro a year before the next presidential election.
His popularity has suffered from a weak economy, rising inflation and his handling of the outbreak.
More than 600 000 people have died from COVID-19 in Brazil, which has the second-highest death toll after the United States.
The nearly 1 200-page report, which was made public on Tuesday, had recommended 13 charges for Bolsonaro, including genocide against indigenous communities for actions that allegedly left them vulnerable to the coronavirus.
