It has been hard to keep up with the news in Brazil. It seems that every day brings a new development in politics – a fear of a coup, for instance – that shocks everyone. We have not been able to highlight one topic specifically in reason of the turbulence that the country has been in the past few weeks, after changes in the government, high rates of deaths by COVID-19, slow vaccination, and even a little reunion for the president and his allies.
Despite more than 350,000 deaths, with almost 4,000 per day, and an increase in the number of people who can’t afford to buy their own food, many Brazilian politicians seem to be in a distant place, where replacements in the government, disregard for the pandemic, and other absurd events are happening like it was a very normal thing to do. I will explain.
For a start, we have a new health minister. The fourth. In the middle of the pandemic. At the time, around March 15, Ludhmilla Hajjar, a doctor who defends social isolation, a possible lockdown, and the vaccines, was being considered. She had a meeting with the president, the current health minister, and the president’s son, Eduardo Bolsonaro. And the result was scary. We don’t know exactly what happened there, but the physician received threats, was persecuted on social media and even had attempts of invasion in her hotel room.
In an exclusive interview for GloboNews, Hajjar said that there was not a technical convergence between her and the government, and added “I was available to Brazil, in an attempt to reach an agreement, to try to align, to try to show a different point of view. But unfortunately, that was not possible.”
The chosen one was Marcelo Queiroga, also a doctor, who has been trying to ease the situation, which leads to some dissonance between his and the president’s words. In his first speech as health minister he argued in favor of social distancing and the use of masks, something that the president goes against, but also said “Is Bolsonaro’s government policy, not the minister’s. The Minister executes the government policy”.
On March 29, everything exploded. It was certain that Bolsonaro would make changes in the ministries, mainly removing Ernesto Araújo from foreign relations. The exchange was made, to nobody’s surprise, but was followed by a domino exit never seen. In total, 6 cabinets suffered changes: government secretary, staff, justice, foreign relations, a new attorney general, and especially, the defense.
The next day, the leaders of the navy, air force, and army were removed and replaced, causing another shock in politics. They resigned after the removal of the defense minister, Fernando Azevedo e Silva, in an action never seen before. Panic was installed, with some even talking about a new coup. Is important to highlight that all of this was happening two days before April 1, the day which 57 years ago a dictatorship was established in Brazil.
Of course, this echoed in the world. The Financial Times said in an editorial that the decision made by the generals of stepping away was a gift to Brazil, saying that “Given a choice between showing fealty to an erratic and unpredictable president who has openly scorned Congress and the courts or pledging allegiance to Brazil’s constitution, they wisely chose the latter.”
On the other hand, the newspaper The Intercept Brasil criticized the role of the media in spreading that the army is aligned to the Constitution and that they were fighting the madness of Bolsonaro in an article entitled: “The press gives voice to the farce that generals have detached themselves from Bolsonaro, but the military is still sunk in the government”.
Like said before, the world is watching Brazil. More editorials are released every day condemning the actions taken by the Brazilian president. Most of them are harsh, like Washington Post’s entitled “Brazil’s Bolsonaro failed to stop covid-19. Now he may be targeting democracy” and The Guardian’s, considering Brazil and Bolsonaro a danger to the world. The message is clear and I quote “his departure would nonetheless be welcome, for Brazil’s sake and the rest of the planet’s.“
In the meantime…
A completely Brazilian vaccine, the Butanvac, was announced by Butantan Institute. Of course, later on the same day, the health minister said that the federal government also had a completely Brazilian vaccine, the Versamune, developed by the University of São Paulo, in Ribeirão Preto. But nothing can be easy in Brazil. Some days, if not hours, later, a report in Folha de S. Paulo revealed that the 100% Brazilian vaccine, as announced, was developed in Mont Sinai Hospital, in New York. The vaccine will be entirely produced here.
Possible names of the center for 2022 election – Luciano Huck, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, Ciro Gomes, João Doria, João Amoedo, and Eduardo Leite – joined to sign a letter defending democracy and joining forces against Bolsonaro. Perfect timing!
Bolsonaro dined with businessmen in São Paulo, in response to a letter signed by more than 1,500 economists, bankers, and businessmen on which the signatories defend more effective measures to combat COVID-19. When he said he was doing everything possible to secure immunization, he was applauded. Is important to note that the meeting was performed in São Paulo, where the restrictions for gathering and reunions are still effective, which did not allow a dinner like what was realized, and that the guests were, in general, supporters of the government. None of those who signed the letter participated.
And, finally, supreme court minister Luís Roberto Barroso decided that the senate must open a parliamentary commission of inquiry to investigate the government’s performance on the combat of COVID-19. That also generated more tension.
This is only a resume of what is going on. The number of events makes it impossible to keep up. Everything is fine! Why do you ask?
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The article above was edited by Gabriela Sartorato.
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