Governor v. President

São Paulo Governor João Doria made his most political speech since the beginning of the novel coronavirus outbreak and his rifts with President Jair Bolsonaro. According to Mr. Doria, he received death threats from Bolsonaro supporters on Thursday night and even installed a new fence around his São Paulo home.

The governor credited the attacks he suffered to the so-called “Office of Hate,” the name given to a group of political agents and advisors working within the presidential palace, who fuel Jair Bolsonaro’s digital militancy online. The group is led by one of the president’s sons, Rio de Janeiro councilor Carlos Bolsonaro.

“Do we have one or two governments? One who gets it right, with our Health Ministry [Luiz Henrique Mandetta], with scientists, technicians, scientists, or another [with President Bolsonaro], who says the opposite? Who manages the country?”

Mr. Doria also called the president “irresponsible” for encouraging people to leave their homes: “The BRL 4.8 million the government will spend on a campaign to misinform the Brazilian people should be used to buy hospital supplies and help sick people instead,” said the governor, referring to the federal government’s campaign that encourages people to break social isolation.

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