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LatinNews Daily - 08 July 2020

BRAZIL: Country reacts after Bolsonaro tests positive for Covid-19

On 7 July, various political leaders and critics of President Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil expressed their hope that the president’s positive coronavirus (Covid-19) diagnosis, announced the same day, would mark a shift in his negationist attitude towards the disease.   

Analysis:

The Brazilian government’s internationally condemned response to the coronavirus pandemic is due in large part to President Bolsonaro, who has persistently downplayed the severity of the disease, disregarded scientific guidelines for fighting it, and even overtly hindered his own government’s efforts to tackle it. With Bolsonaro saying he is “perfectly fine”, there is hope that the virus hitting close to home might lead him to change his stance. However, sceptics point out that this does not appear to be the case so far, and worry that a mild case of the disease may simply reinforce Bolsonaro’s cavalier attitude. 

  • Bolsonaro called an in-person press conference with just three TV channels yesterday to announce that he had tested positive for Covid-19. He gave assurances that he felt fine and said he was taking hydroxychloroquine, the controversial anti-malarial drug that he has long touted as a cure to Covid-19, despite lack of scientific evidence and warnings as to its side-effects.
  • The fact that Bolsonaro was in public, close to reporters, and even took off his face mask at the end of the press conference has caused indignation, with many decrying the irresponsibility of such a move.   
  • “He was flirting with contagion” , former health minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta (2019-2020) said of the president yesterday, reminding that Bolsonaro has embraced supporters, attended crowded rallies and rarely worn a mask. “We hope for [his] prompt recovery”, Mandetta added, while noting that not everyone has rapid and guaranteed access to medical care, and that the situation should bring about “reflection”,
  • This view that Bolsonaro should now reconsider his attitude to Covid-19 was echoed by political leaders in congress, supreme court (STF) magistrates, and state governors, some of whom are loud critics of the president.

Looking Ahead: Having held many non-socially distanced meetings in recent days, there is some concern that Bolsonaro could have passed on the virus to a number of people, including Brazilian businessmen, the US ambassador to Brazil, and cabinet ministers – many of whom are part of the at-risk age-group.   

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