“Brazil is bankrupt. I can not do anything “President Jair Bolsonaro said Tuesday, January 6, attributing the crisis to “This virus fed by the press”, at a time when the aid that saved millions of people from poverty has ended.
“Brazil is bankrupt. I can not do anything. I wanted to change the schedule of tax cuts, but there was this virus fueled by the press that we have here, this uninteresting press ”, Bolsonaro said in response to one of his supporters who greeted him outside his official residence in Brasilia.
The Brazilian president was referring to the reform to increase the level of tax-exempt income, a campaign promise by the far-right leader, who came to power with a liberal economic program.
The country “on the brink of a social abyss”
For Mr. Bolsonaro, the economic collapse of the country is linked to the restrictions recommended by the governors to fight against the pandemic due to the coronavirus, which has already killed nearly 198,000 people in Brazil. And it grew in popularity thanks to the emergency aid given over nine months to 68 million Brazilians, or nearly a third of the population.
But this month, this aid stopped, under pressure from the markets, worried about the country’s high level of deficit and debt, which could place it “On the brink of a social abyss”, according to Marcelo Neri, director of the social policy center of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV).
Meanwhile, the number of cases and deaths continues to rise. In the past twenty-four hours, the South American giant has recorded 1,171 deaths and nearly 60,000 new contaminations, figures which are expected to increase in the coming weeks due to the massive gatherings that took place during the Christmas holidays. and New Year’s, according to specialists.
