NGO Human Rights Watch stated today in its World Report 2021 that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has tried to undermine efforts to slow the spread of Covid-19 in the country.
“President Bolsonaro has put the lives and health of Brazilians at great risk by trying to sabotage efforts to protect against the spread of Covid-19,” said Anna Livia Arida, Brazil Associate Director at Human Rights Watch. “The Supreme Court and other institutions have helped to protect Brazilians and to block many, although not all, of Bolsonaro’s anti-rights policies. They need to remain vigilant.”
Since the pandemic reached Brazil, Mr. Bolsonaro has belittled Covid-19 as a “little flu” and has been an active agent of misinformation, spreading falsehoods about the disease, treatments, and vaccine safety. Late last year, the far-right politician even made the bizarre claim that Covid-19 vaccines could turn people into crocodiles or bearded ladies.
According to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University, Brazil has the world’s second-highest death toll from the coronavirus.
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