Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has dismissed sweeping lockdown to contain the new coronavirus, defying health authorities’ recommendations. Listen to some of his recent statements. Story by DLBiller
“Do you know what will happen, Bolsonaro? Brazil WILL stop. Your irresponsibility will bring thousands to avoidable deaths,” she tweeted Friday. “The destroyed lungs of these people, as well as the organs of those who won’t be able to have medical care, will fall on your lap. And Brazil will not spare you.”
Bolsonaro may have concluded that when he faces reelection in two and a half years, the economy will matter more to most Brazilians than the death toll from coronavirus. By labeling the virus threat as overblown and decrying state governors’ quarantines and shutdowns as unnecessary, he could be preparing to blame others for any recession that might happen.
Bolsonaro, a Trump devotee, said he has watched his U.S. counterpart speak about the virus in recent days and found their perspectives rather aligned. Like Trump, he has sought to ease anxiety by often touting the yet-unproven benefits of chloroquine in combating the virus. On Thursday, he eliminated tariffs for the anti-malaria drug.
“It’s a very high-risk, tremendous gamble for Bolsonaro and probably it won’t work,” said Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank. “But I wouldn’t rule out that it could. He could get lucky. It seems like it is going to hurt him significantly, but he has defied the odds before.”
He has flouted the international consensus on coronavirus even as Trump has moved toward some World Health Organization recommendations for isolation. Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador spent weeks dismissing the coronavirus threat but on Thursday closed government for all but essential work and urged Mexicans to remain indoors.
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