He could not resist the temptation: Sunday, Jair Bolsonaro, finally descended the banister of the presidential palace to greet his supporters, gathered on the place of the Three Powers of Brasilia, as in other cities across the country , in support of its policy. Smiling, but without a mask, the president shook hands, took selfies and waved a large national banner under the cheers. In 58 minutes of walkabout, he would have been in contact with no less than 272 people.
The far-right leader does not care about hygiene recommendations, even those from his own health minister. Several figures in his administration have been diagnosed with coronavirus, including 13 members of the delegation who accompanied him to the United States last week. "I'm not going to live a prisoner at the Alvorada (the residence of the head of state) ! ", said Mr. Bolsonaro on Monday. Tested negative at Covid-19, Friday March 13, it should still, in theory, remain in preventive isolation. Whatever: "If I want to shake hands with my people, it is my right, I come from the people", he said.
For Jair Bolsonaro, the pandemic is a "Little crisis" or a "Hysteria" born from"Imagination" medias. On Monday, he did not see fit to participate in a videoconference bringing together regional leaders on the issue. "There are going to be problems (…), but not everything they say ", he said, presumably referring to health experts.
Jair Bolsonaro joins inaction to the word: Brazil has so far taken no significant steps to deal with the virus. Unlike Argentina or Chile, the borders are not closed and no national confinement is planned. The government’s plan, released on Monday, plans to inject 147.3 billion reais (26 billion euros) to support stagnant growth. But for the economy minister, Paulo Guedes, there is no question of quarantining the country. "If everyone stays at home, (the economy) will collapse ", is it justified.
"Communist" virus
The most radical "bolsonarists" believe neither in the severity, nor even in the existence of the virus. Many right-wing protesters saw a conspiracy by the left behind the pandemic on Sunday and described the Covid-19 as " lie " or from "Comunavirus" (communist virus). They are supported in this by several evangelical leaders, such as Edir Macedo, the very powerful founder of the Universal Church of the kingdom of God, who described the disease on Sunday as harmless and attributed its origins to a strange alliance between "Satan" and the mainstream media.
