Coronavirus

Bolsonaro creates “crisis committee” against Covid-19

Army General Walter Braga Netto crisis committee
Army General Walter Braga Netto. Photo: Marcelo Camargo/ABr

President Jair Bolsonaro instituted a “crisis committee” to manage and cushion the impacts of Covid-19 in Brazil. In a decree, the president said the group will be responsible for coordinating government actions and giving advice on policy-making.

All cabinet members will have a seat on the crisis committee — as well the Central Bank, Brazilian Sanitary Surveillance Agency, public banks (Caixa, Banco do Brasil, and the Brazilian Development Bank), as well as the Public Health Emergencies Operating Center. But the president, however, won’t attend meetings.

Army General Walter Braga Netto, the president’s Chief of Staff, was appointed as the head of the group. Mr. Braga Netto was the security chief of the Rio 2016 Olympics and has also served as an observer at the United Nations.