How the government tries to protect companies during the pandemic

The pandemic that President Jair Bolsonaro dismisses as a “little flu” has shown its first major effects in Brazil. The country’s number of confirmed Covid-19 cases has jumped to 10,278, and deaths have hit 431.

Mr. Bolsonaro continues to downplay the potential of Covid-19, trying to encourage Brazilians to go back to work. He has made it clear that he will not bear the results of an economic recession, but that he is willing to throw a health crisis onto the lap of state governors, for which he has not yet brought short, medium or long term solutions. 

Even with the president wagering all his chips on the economy, the outlook is not good. Recent data showed that even before the pandemic, unemployment was on the up — increasing from 11.2 percent to 11.6 percent between November and February.

Economists say that this trend of unemployment growth could reach a peak of 16 percent, before evening out to 13 percent afterwards. Gross Domestic Product will also be another victim of Covid-19. Banks and research institutes are already betting on a contraction that may vary between 0.4 and 2.8 percent in 2020.

A survey by the National Confederation of Industry showed that 79 percent of companies suffered with a drop in demand, 86 percent are having difficulty obtaining materials, and 83 percent are unable...