Coronavirus

Bolsonaro panders to India as part of vaccine strategy

India Ambassador Suresh K. Reddy greets Jair Bolsonaro. Photo: Isac Nóbrega/PR
Indian Ambassador Suresh K. Reddy greets Jair Bolsonaro. Photo: Isac Nóbrega/PR

Normally absent from events at foreign embassies in Brasília, President Jair Bolsonaro attended a celebration of India’s Republic Day on Tuesday. According to a source close to Mr. Bolsonaro, the move was an attempt to iron out diplomatic relations with a country that is home to major vaccine manufacturers.

Earlier this year, Brazil and India experienced a brief diplomatic rift as the latter played hardball on the clearance of 2 million ready-for-use doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to be sent to Brazil. Eventually, the shots arrived in São Paulo on January 22.

President Jair Bolsonaro has been forced to pivot on his anti-vaccine rhetoric, as opinion poll data shows 79 percent of Brazilians want to get inoculated as soon as possible. In a matter of days, he switched from spreading falsehoods about possible side effects of vaccines to championing a massive immunization effort as the only way to make an economic recovery possible in 2021.

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