Genocidal hurricane hits Brazil | Opinion

From Rio de Janeiro

Amid the tragedy that produces the world’s highest number of daily coronavirus deaths – there are almost two deaths per minute in the past 15 days -, Brazil is in an unusual situation, a perfect portrait of the reigning chaos: the genocidal government of the far right Jair Bolsonaro has two ministers of health.

One, who continues to act, the active general Eduardo Pazuello, and another, already elected and announced, the cardiologist Marcelo Queiroga. Two ministers and no effective national coordination program, as corpses pile up every day, public and private hospitals near collapse, essential drugs to fight against covid-19 are running out, in most of the country oxygen is also approaching depletion and vaccines are not arriving.

The general remains in office while Bolsonaro tries to find another ministry, or at least a degree with a ministerial diploma, to ensure constitutional protection and prevent police trials and investigations from being referred to the common justice system.

The cardiologist has already announced what will be his first initiative upon taking office: visiting hospitals in different regions of the country.

However, this is not a humanitarian gesture and seeking to coordinate actions to avoid the general collapse of intensive care units: Queiroga wants to personally verify whether the intensive care units are indeed occupied, and whether the dead have died from covid and not from another disease.

More than absurd, the announcement of the future minister reflects the cruelty that reigns in the government on the part of Bolsonaro himself, increasingly uncontrolled and with no other solution than to attack with fury the mayors and governors who decree harsher measures – but still absolutely lower than what would be needed to try to prevent the wave of infections from continuing to grow, according to the vast majority of doctors and specialists – from social isolation.

The scenes recorded across the country are pure tragedy. Patients dying in the corridors of the hospital without having been to bed, children burying fathers and mothers for lack of professionals in the cemeteries, none of this moves the president.

Specific information in the overthrow of Bolsonaro was the suspension of sentences imposed on former President Lula da Silva by then-manipulator Judge Sergio Moro.

In addition to repeating signs of a lack of control, Bolsonaro once again decided to threaten force measures.

Friday morning, to the small group of faithful gathered at the exit of the presidential palace to sing evangelical hymns and take photos by his side, Bolsonaro said aggressively that despite being contrary to “extremist attitudes”, he saw with concern that the time to declare a state of siege in the country was approaching., “To guarantee people the right to move and work.”

The statement prompted a phone call from Luiz Fux, president of the Supreme Federal Court, Brazil’s highest court. Asked what he said, Bolsonaro again turned around.

However, we must not forget that extreme measures have always been defended by the far right and their three children who have been in politics for years.

At a time, Its Minister of Justice decided to mobilize the federal police against journalists, university professors, lawyers and intellectuals, on the basis of the law on national security inherited from the military dictatorship (1964-1985), for criticizing the president.

At least so far, these actions, which consisted of encouraging defendants to provide clarifications at police stations, have been overturned by the courts.

While Bolsonaro attacks mayors and governors who impose a curfew and the closure of trade which is not considered essential, the decision to suspend activities came on private initiative.

On the same Friday, Volkswagen announced the shutdown, for twelve days, of its entire assembly line and decided that those responsible remain at home.

This time, however, Bolsonaro did not mention the decision as typical of Communist dictators.