Witzel on his way to the gallows.

Governor Wilson Witzel, author of the famous and infamous phrase "the police will aim for the head," will not be immediately removed from office due to the defeat he suffered in today's vote in the Alerj (Rio de Janeiro State Legislative Assembly) that allowed the opening of impeachment proceedings against him.

But judging by the result – 69 to 0 against him – there is no doubt that his downfall is only a matter of time. There are a total of 70 deputies. One of them did not vote.

All legal procedures will be followed, we have a few weeks of depositions ahead of us, but his chances of getting away with it are nil: not a single deputy, not even from his own party, is with him.

It's quite a turnaround for someone who won the gubernatorial election despite being a rookie, riding on Bolsonaro's coattails, then positioned himself to run for president in 2022, spoke harshly to Bolsonaro, but after the Federal Police raided his residences, he started speaking softly, begged for mercy, wanted to make peace, to reconcile, but it was too late. The die is cast.

On the one hand, his downfall will be cause for celebration for the Bolsonaros, which is never good (they – like Queiroz – don't deserve even small joys), but on the other hand, we, especially the people of Rio, will be freed from yet another relic of the authoritarian regime, as obsessed with power as Bolsonaro, as troglodytic as he is, whose absence from political life will fill a void.