Brazil: more than one hundred thousand coronavirus infections by …

Brazil registered this Thursday for first time over 100,000 coronavirus infections in 24 hours, in a new and grim record of a pandemic that has already killed more than 300,000 people in the country, reported the Ministry of Health. There were exactly 100,158 new cases, with which the number of infections has reached 12.3 million. The report also reported 2,777 deaths in 24 hours, bringing the total to 303,462.

Brazil is the country with the highest number of coronavirus deaths and infections after the United States. The balance has continued to increase since February, due, among other things, to non-compliance with recommendations for social isolation and the emergence of a local variant of the virus, called P1, considered much more contagious.

The seven-day daily average of infections is currently 77,050, twice in early January (36.003). The average death toll at his side has more than tripled, from 703 in January to 2,280. The escalation at the moment does not appear to have a cap, with vaccination slowly advancing and President Jair Bolsonaro’s resistance to impose social confinement measures, alleging its economic impact. Several states, including Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, have declared ten public holidays from Friday April 26 to April 4.

Bolsonaro, under fire from critics for disdaining the use of masks, promoting agglomerations with his supporters and promoting drugs with no proven efficacy against covid, has given signs in recent days of making a change of course.. The far-right president notably spoke in favor of an acceleration of the vaccination campaign, after repeatedly questioning the effectiveness of vaccines.

In his direct social media show on Thursday, he maintained his criticism of the partial quarantine measures. “If the policy of radical closure of everything continues, we do not know where our Brazil will end up,” he said. “But I want to be clear: we want to fight the virus,” he added.

Bolsonaro is criticized for his indifference to facing the pandemic firmly. Allies and adversaries, businessmen and epidemiologists, doctors and media show their saturation in front of the far-right president, who in recent days has given signs of wanting to correct the situation, without however convincing.

The idea that their positions against the use of masks, as well as the promotion of crowds and the rejection of confinement measures were at the origin of many deaths due to covid is taken up by personalities and specialists, the leaders of opinion not hesitating to do so. treat him as “genocidal”. The Governor of Sao Paulo, Joao doria, a former ally of Bolsonaro who became one of his main adversaries, called him a “psychopath”.

Ricardo de Joao Braga, associate researcher at the Congresso em Foco portal, specializing in parliamentary affairs, stressed: “There is an accumulation of attrition. The patience of political leaders with Bolsonaro is running out.”

Bolsonaro retains a hard core of supporters and 30% of favorable opinions, but 54% of Brazilians disapprove of his handling of the pandemic, according to a recent poll by the institute. Technical sheet. “Jair Bolsonaro now wants to convince the Brazilians that he is the President of the Republic and not the irresponsible that everyone knows”, writes the newspaper. Sao Paulo state in an editorial.

– “Dilute the pressures” –

On Tuesday evening, Bolsonaro tried to empathize with “all those who have lost a member of their family”, in a speech to the nation that was echoed by thunderous cacerolazos in the main cities of the country.

The next day, he wanted to stage the national union by summoning the top leaders of Congress and the Supreme Court and several governors to a meeting, after which he announced the creation of a committee to resolve the health crisis “without conflict and without politicization. “

The final photo, according to media reports, did not reveal the stormy climate of the meeting.

The only real consensus reached seems to be the need to focus on the vaccination campaign, putting an end to the reservations expressed until recently by Bolsonaro as to its effectiveness; on one occasion, he even said that vaccines can cause genetic alterations and turn a patient into an “alligator”.

But the former army captain seems reluctant to change his anti-containment rhetoric or stop recommending “early treatments” with drugs like hydroxychloroquine, without scientific proof of effectiveness against COVID.

“In principle, the meeting was reserved for Bolsonaro and the Presidents of the Chamber, the Senate and the Supreme Court. But later it became a big meeting” with the participation of several ministers, explains Joao Braga. Bolsonaro thus hoped “to dilute the pressures”, but that “annoyed the real interlocutors”, estimates the analyst.

– “Brazil demands respect” –

A few hours later, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Artur LiraHe gave up on smiles and raised his voice in a speech to the plenary.

“The moment is serious and everything has its limits (…). I show the yellow alert”, declared Lira, warning that the Congress could use “sometimes fatal remedies”. An approach interpreted as a threat to initiate an impeachment process against Bolsonaro.

Several dozen impeachment requests have already been presented and it is precisely the Speaker of the House who decides whether they can be put to the vote of lawmakers. The business sector, which backed Bolsonaro when he was elected in 2018 in fear of the left coming back, has also taken a step forward.

“The country can move forward if we follow a responsible agenda (…) The country is tired of misplaced ideas, inconsistent words, wrong or late actions. Brazil demands respect,” affirms a public letter signed by 1,500 businessmen, bankers and economists, which had a great echo in the country.