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Jobs first: Bolsonaro fires popular health expert
By Lisandra Paraguassu
Brasilia: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has fired his popular health minister after clashing with him over how to fight the new coronavirus, and again called for states to end stay-at-home orders he said were hurting the economy.
Few global leaders have done more than Bolsonaro to play down the pandemic, which has killed nearly 2000 Brazilians. He has called the virus "a little flu", flaunted stay-at-home rules, and criticised state governors for imposing restrictions supported by health experts and the popular outgoing minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta.
Brazil's Marine Corps soldiers from the Nuclear, Biological, Chemical and Radiological Defence division perform disinfection operations at tram stations under guard in downtown Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.Credit: Bloomberg
Mandetta, an orthopedist, had garnered support for his handling of the pandemic that included promotion of broad isolation measures enacted by state governors, even drawing comparisons to Dr Anthony Fauci, US President Donald Trump's top virus expert.
His dismissal comes as experts say the peak of the outbreak in Brazil is expected in May.
"You should have absolute certainty that we fought a good fight until here," Mandetta told fellow ministry workers in a televised press conference. "But we're at the start of the battle."
An image of Jair Bolsonaro is projected on a building's wall as residents bang pots and pans in Sao Paulo on Thursday evening.Credit: Getty Images
In televised remarks met with pot-banging protests in several major cities, Bolsonaro said Mandetta did not fully appreciate the need to protect jobs and he called again for a resumption of business in 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.
Luiz Henrique Mandetta, Brazil's answer to the USA's Dr Anthony Fauci, has been fired.Credit: Bloomberg
The dispute at the highest reaches of Brazilian politics coincides with several countries debating when and how life should start returning to normal after lockdowns, which are predicted to drive the global economy into recession.
Governors in the United States have formed regional coalitions to begin considering plans for reopening their economies, stoking friction with Trump, an ally of Bolsonaro's, who also wants to see lockdowns lifted faster.
But while there are signs that the outbreak has peaked in the United States, medical 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.
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 like chloroquine.
Incoming minister Nelson Teich, asked about the ministry's position now that he was in charge, said there would not be any "sudden changes" in policy.
However, he added: "There is a 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 legislator who had begun to upstage Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro's popularity has slid and he faces nightly protests from Brazilians banging pots from their windows over his handling of the outbreak.
In addition to the daily 8.30pm protests, people also spontaneously began striking cookware when Bolsonaro announced Mandetta's firing.
A survey earlier this month by pollster Datafolha showed three-quarters of Brazilians approved of the ministry's handling of the crisis, versus just one-third for 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.
"Teich has defended social distancing. If he persists in this, he will have serious problems with President Bolsonaro and won't last 30 days in office, or he will have to tear up his degree and contradict the entire global scientific community," the right-wing senator said in a video.
The spread of the coronavirus in the country has accelerated to 30,425 confirmed cases, with some 200 fatalities per day bringing the death toll to 1924 on Thursday , according to ministry data, the highest in Latin America. While rising quickly, the number of confirmed cases is still relatively low in relation to the country's massive population of 211 million, but testing is not widespread and people with mild symptoms have been told to stay home.
Reuters, AP