Bolsonaro Mired in Incompetence as Coronavirus Continues Unabated in Brazil

After two straight days of record COVID-19 deaths in Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro told Brazilians to stop “whining” and move on, in his latest remarks attacking distancing measures and downplaying the gravity of the pandemic.

Brazil has the world’s second-highest death toll over the past year, after the United States. While the U.S. outbreak is ebbing, Brazil is facing its worst phase of the epidemic yet, pushing its hospital system to the brink of collapse.

“Enough fussing and whining. How much longer will the crying go on?” Bolsonaro told a crowd at a recent event. “How much longer will you stay at home and close everything? No one can stand it anymore. We regret the deaths, again, but we need a solution.”

Brazil’s surging second wave of infections has triggered new restrictions in its capital, Brasilia, and its largest city, Sao Paulo. Tourist mecca Rio de Janeiro on Thursday announced a city-wide curfew and early closing time for restaurants.

The federal government has been slow to purchase and distribute vaccines, with less than 3.5% of the population having gotten one shot.  The government is working to obtain additional vaccines from more suppliers.

Particularly worrying to health authorities is the emergence of a new coronavirus variant from the Amazon region that appears more contagious and more able to reinfect those who have already had COVID-19.  “We are experiencing the worst outlook for the pandemic since it started,” said Gonzalo Vecina Neto, a medical doctor and former head of Brazilian health regulator Anvisa.  “Mutations are the result of the increased reproduction of the virus. The greater the number of viruses, the faster the transmission, the more mutations we have,” he said

State governors and doctors have complained that the federal government has mismanaged the coronavirus crisis, as Bolsonaro has downplayed its severity and opposed lockdowns.  Nevertheless, Bolsonaro’s popularity has been supported by $58 billion in emergency aid payments to poorer Brazilians last year.