On April 16, President Jair Bolsonaro fired then-Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta after weeks of bickering over social isolation guidelines and the recommendation of chloroquine — an antimalarial drug with unproven effects on Covid-19 patients — as a “possible cure” for the coronavirus. With Mr. Mandetta gone, the president appointed oncologist Nelson Teich, who promised “total alignment” with the government. However, less than one month later, Nelson Teich resigned for the same reasons as his predecessor: disagreements over social isolation guidelines and the recommendation of chloroquine as a “possible cure” for the coronavirus. Jair Bolsonaro will now have to appoint yet another new Health Minister.
Two independent sources have told The Brazilian Report that Deputy Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello will be promoted to the department’s top job. An Army general whose expertise is in logistics, Mr. Pazuello will be the government’s tenth cabinet member with a military background — out of a total of 22. “He is not a healthcare expert. He will be a bureaucrat named solely to cater to the president’s wishes. Doctors and scientists wouldn’t accept tarnishing their diplomas...
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