Tossed from his role as Health Minister on April 16, Luiz Henrique Mandetta has been treated by many as something of a national hero. Recent polls showed that he enjoyed a 76-percent approval rating, making him the most popular member of Jair Bolsonaro’s cabinet before his dismissal. This fame is new-found, however, as Mr. Mandetta spent the entirety of 2019 almost completely unnoticed by the public. His popularity is based purely on the fact that, while President Jair Bolsonaro established himself as the only major world leader to play down the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr. Mandetta simply followed science, taking his policy cues from the World Health Organization.
Before the pandemic, Mr. Mandetta was a lower house backbencher who didn’t even run for re-election in 2018, as his chances of holding onto his place were slim. After intense lobbying from Big Agro representatives in Brasilia, as well as Goiás Governor Ronaldo Caiado, he managed to wrangle a seat in the cabinet.
So, with over a year in the shadows and a couple of months in the spotlight, what legacy does...
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