Bolsonaro fires minister, calls to reopen economy
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro fired his health minister after clashing with him over how to fight the new coronavirus, and again called for states to end stay-athome orders that he said were hurting the economy.
Bolsonaro has criticised state governors for imposing restrictions supported by health experts and the popular outgoing minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta.
In televised remarks Bolsonaro said Mandetta did not fully appreciate the need to protect jobs and he called again for a resumption of business in Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy.
“We need to return to normal, not as fast as possible, but we need to start having some flexibility,” Bolsonaro said.
The government cannot afford emergency aid to the poor for much longer, he said.
The dispute at the highest reaches of Brazilian politics coincides with several countries debating when and how life should start returning to normal after coronavirus lockdowns, which are predicted to drive the global economy into recession.
Governors in the US have formed regional coalitions to begin considering plans for reopening their economies, stoking friction with President Donald Trump, an ally of Bolsonaro’s, who wants to see lockdowns lifted faster.
But while there are signs that the outbreak has peaked in the US, experts agree that a peak in Brazil is still weeks away and it is too early to end social distancing.
“Do not think we are past a peak in growth of the virus. The health system is still not prepared for an acceleration,” Mandetta warned in his parting comments at the ministry.
While Bolsonaro sharply criticised the shutdowns, the health ministry under Mandetta provided guidance supportive of the social distancing measures.
Mandetta’s daily briefings had also contradicted Bolsonaro’s praise for unproven drugs.
Incoming minister Nelson Teich, asked at a news conference about the ministry’s position now that he was in charge, said there will not be any “sudden changes” in policy. However, he added: “There is complete alignment between me and the president.”
Teich, who founded an oncology group sold to United Healthcare
in 2015, lacks the political experience of his predecessor, a former lawmaker who had begun to upstage Bolsonaro.
Senator Major Olimpio, Bolsonaro’s former right-hand man in Congress, praised Mandetta for sticking to scientific principles in the public health crisis and urged the new minister to defend the need for isolation measures.
The spread of the coronavirus in Brazil has accelerated to 30,425 confirmed cases, with some 200 fatalities per day bringing the death toll to 1,924 on Thursday, according to health ministry data, the highest in Latin America.