Before flattening the curve, Brazilians governors push to reopen

On the same day Brazil topped the 25,000 mark of confirmed Covid-19 deaths, São Paulo Governor João Doria announced a plan to reopen the state’s economy. The program has five steps and is based on data such as the number of intensive care beds available per person.

São Paulo is Brazil’s wealthiest and most populated state — and battles with the highest absolute numbers for cases and casualties related to the coronavirus. Since the beginning of the outbreak in Brazil, Mr. Doria staunchly defended quarantine rules — making him one of President Jair Bolsonaro’s main political antagonists: his advocacy of quarantine measures has been in stark contrast to Mr. Bolsonaro’s open Covid-19 denialism.

But political pressure has restrained Mr. Doria from placing his state on lockdown, and is now leading him to what many regard as a rushed reopening of São Paulo.

Bolsonaro v. states

The tug of war between the president and governors has become one of the central dynamics of Brazil’s coronavirus crisis. Since March, Mr. Bolsonaro has relentlessly ranted against social isolation measures, claiming that they would “destroy the economy” and drive the country into a recession that will be deadlier on the poor than the virus ever could. 

Mr. Bolsonaro’s stance has placed him on a collision course with state governors with the Supreme Court siding with the latter group — granting them jurisdiction over the matter. Now, the most powerful governor in the country is yielding to the pressure to reopen. And he is not alone.

Meanwhile, the outbreak in...