LatinNews Daily - 09 December 2021 |
BRAZIL: Doria challenges Bolsonaro on vaccine passports |
On 8 December, the governor of Brazil’s São Paulo state, João Doria, said that his government would start requiring proof of vaccination against the coronavirus (Covid-19) from incoming travellers if the federal executive led by President Jair Bolsonaro failed to implement such a measure. Analysis: Doria rode Bolsonaro’s coattails to election victory in 2018, but the two have been political rivals ever since. They are both expected to run in next October’s presidential election, with Doria recently winning the nomination for his party, the Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira (PSDB). It is in his response to the Covid-19 pandemic that Doria has tried to make his mark and distance himself from Bolsonaro; he played a key role in getting the first Covid-19 vaccines to Brazil and has always been a vocal critic of Bolsonaro’s denialist response to Covid-19.
Looking Ahead: Although Doria’s support for vaccine mandates is in line with scientific recommendations, his latest comments may be nothing more than political grandstanding: international transport is the federal, not local, government’s remit, and the new rules on quarantine for the unvaccinated effectively amount to a vaccine passport, even though the Bolsonaro executive remains fiercely opposed to the measure. |