Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, is facing an intensifying public backlash after his muddled reaction to the coronavirus crisis sparked five successive nights of protests and predictions that his political authority had sustained a potentially fatal blow.
Brazil has recorded 1,128 coronavirus cases and 18 deaths, with the country’s health minister last week saying the country’s public health system is likely to collapse by the end of April.
But Bolsonaro continues to downplay the pandemic despite more than 20 members of a delegation he recently led to the US becoming infected with Covid-19.
In an interview on Saturday, he criticised efforts to contain the virus through large-scale quarantines or shutdowns and described the governors of states including Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo as “irresponsible”, saying they were creating a “climate of terror” by doing so.
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Even former allies have turned on Brazil’s president, with Janaina Paschoal, a rightwing congresswoman once touted as Bolsonaro’s vice-presidential running mate, calling for an end to his presidency. “We are being invaded by an invisible enemy. We need people who are capable of leading the nation,” she said.
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Reminds me of the classic scene from Network.