In today’s Brazil, a knock-on effect of President Jair Bolsonaro moving even further to the far-right inevitably means that anyone ever-so-slightly to his left will be erroneously singled out as a moderate. One of these false moderates is military police major-turned-senator Sérgio Olímpio Gomes, known around Brazil as simply Major Olímpio.
A staunch advocate for Brazilians’ right to arm themselves to the teeth, for harsh punishments for criminals, and for the denial of treatment to prisoners with Covid-19, Major Olimpio is perhaps as reactionary as they come. Yet, after distancing himself from the Bolsonaro government due to spats with the president and his sons, he is now carefully presenting himself as a hard-line right-winger, while keeping the current administration at arm’s length.
“I have not distanced myself from my proposals, the president did this. When he gets back in line, I’ll support him again. I feel disgusted with how things are being done, but I help in whatever way I can. However, no one will make me indulge crazy people,” says the senator, who received over 9 million votes in the 2018 election.
Major Olímpio gave an exclusive interview to The Brazilian Report this week, the highlights of which you can read below:
Is President Jair Bolsonaro capable of guiding the country through a health crisis — and the ensuing economic crisis?
The healthcare aspect has been adequate, given the circumstances, namely Brazil’s sheer size and massive population. But the political agenda is a disaster. The president goes to the streets, promotes public gatherings, and undoes all the work in favor of social isolation put forward by his Health Ministry. This behavior confuses the population, and the results are terrible because the best medicine against Covid-19 we have so far is social isolation.
What about economic measures?
The government has tried to present actions, but Congress has been much more agile. An example was the monthly BRL 600 emergency aid, paid to 54 million people — and possibly extendable to another 14 million. There is also a special credit line for micro and small businesses,...
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