Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has made his first public appearance since a judge annulled all convictions against him on Monday, clearing his path to challenge far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro for the presidency in 2022. In a major speech Wednesday, Lula blasted Bolsonaro’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva: “Many of the COVID deaths could have been avoided, if there were a government who did their job. … This country is disorganized and falling apart because it has no government. I will repeat: This country has no government.”

More than 270,000 Brazilians have died of COVID-19 over the past year — the second-highest figure in the world, behind the United States.