Like President Donald Trump, Brazil's leader Jair Bolsonaro downplayed the dangers of the pandemic and argued against a national lockdown.
RIO DE JANEIRO – He's shown disdain for facts and science-based recommendations. He's said the public will eventually realize they were"tricked" by governors and large parts of the media over a"measly little cold." He's embraced chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as treatments for the coronavirus despite no evidence of the anti-malaria drugs' effectiveness in fighting the disease.
Story continuesRubens Ricupero, a former Brazilian minister of finance who previously served as Brazil's ambassador to Washington, said that Trump and Bolsonaro also both"prioritized the economy" over COVID-19 isolation measures, a decision he believes will likely lead to more economic damage over the longer-term because the disease was allowed to spread farther afield."The economy will take longer to get back to normal," he said.
Oliver Stuenkel, a political analyst and professor of international relations at Brazil's Getulio Vargas Foundation, a think tank and university, said Bolsonaro's coronavirus response may resemble Trump’s, but the latter has been far more extreme. From the top floor of her 12-story apartment complex she has a panoramic view of a "sea of pans" that pop-up in the windows of the buildings scattered all around.
"Today’s action will help ensure foreign nationals who have been in Brazil do not become a source of additional infections in our country," said White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany last month as Brazil joined China, Europe, Britain and Iran on the list of countries where certain travelers are banned from entering the U.S. Still, Bolsonaro is used to deflecting criticism.
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