US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — Brazil’s Bolsonaro sacks health minister during virus crisis.
“The president has just informed me of my dismissal from the ministry of health,” the publication said. He also thanked his colleagues in the department and wished success to his successor. Oncologist Nelson Taish, who met with the head of state on Thursday morning, is considered the most likely candidate for this post.
Mandetta has consistently advocated social self-isolation as the most effective, in his opinion, way of resisting the spread of coronavirus and preventing the collapse of the entire healthcare system, contrary to the president’s opinion. The head of state has repeatedly criticized the quarantine measures taken by the regional authorities because of the pandemic.
According to Bolsonaro, the virus is dangerous only for the elderly and those who are at risk, while the majority, in his opinion, will carry it in the form of a “mild cold.” The Brazilian leader believes that the established restrictions will have disastrous consequences for the country’s economy, leading to mass ruin and rising unemployment.
Rumors about the imminent departure of the minister from the government were fueled by the president himself for several weeks. He repeatedly defiantly contradicted the recommendations of the Ministry of Health with his actions: he drove into shops and pharmacies, talked with supporters, urged them to conduct public actions and took part in them.
According to opinion polls, 80% of Brazilians approve of the recommendations of Mandetta, while the actions of the head of state against the backdrop of a pandemic are negatively related to 42% of respondents.
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