Bolsonaro takes ‘little flu’ flak
BRASILIA: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro drew blistering criticism from the medical community and opponents on Wednesday for downplaying the coronavirus pandemic, but renewed his attacks on containment measures to slow its spread.
The far-right leader has repeatedly lashed out at restrictive measures to fight the virus, which he has called a “little flu” that caused an “overblown” reaction.
He triggered new outrage among critics with a national address on
Tuesday night condemning “scorched-earth” containment measures by local authorities, such as closing businesses and confining people in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s biggest cities.
He said such measures risked wrecking the Brazilian economy, Latin America’s largest.
His stance, which flies in the face of World Health Organization recommendations, drew a strongly worded letter of condemnation from a group of eight medical professional associations.
They called Mr Bolsonaro an “enemy of the people’s health” whose response to the crisis was “incoherent and criminal”.
“He denies the body of scientific evidence guiding the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic worldwide, disdaining the serious and dedicated work by a national and global network of researchers and health technology professionals,” it said.
Politicians of various stripes also attacked Mr Bolsonaro, including centre-right Senate president Davi Alcolumbre, who said Brazil “needs a serious, responsible leader who cares about the people’s lives and health”.