On International Day of Families, President #Bolsonaro received tens of thousands of supporters in front of the Planalto Palace. People going by themselves and them wearing the Brazilian colors and waving the Brazilian flag were in a stark contrast to when ex-president #Lula gathered people there, wearing red and waving red flags, and many of them being paid and fed, and given a ride in order to attend it.
#SaoPaulo Mayor #BrunoCovas died today. He was in the ICU and the hospital had released a statement a couple of days ago saying his condition was irreversible. He had adenocarcinoma. Covas started having problems in 2019, but was able to keep working during his treatment. He was much criticized for his opposition to President #Bolsonaro, for his strong lockdown measures, and also for not obeying his own orders. #covid#pandemic
According to the opinion poll #Datafolha, the infamous Marxist and ex-president #Lula, whose charges of corruption were nullified by the #SupremeCourt (#STF) recently, wins over #Bolsonaro in the first round and with a good margin. This is the same push #Biden got by a large part of the media and of opinion polls. If Bolsonaro doesn't get paper trail to be approved and added to the voting machines to avoid election fraud, nobody will be able to prove the contrary if Lula's elected (because it's inconceivable that he wins if the Bolsonaro administration keeps going as it's been).
The Ministry (Department) of Economy, whose minister is #PauloGuedes, was able to get passed a law that will help companies save thousands of reals a year with newspapers. Until then, companies listed in the stock market were forced to pay the printing press to publish their annual balance. With the internet, social media, and cell phones, there's no need for this. The printing press should lose 150 million reals per year, but some kinds of companies still have to pay for that. The gov't will try to extend this change to all companies.
The #SupremeCourt (#STF) voted 8-3 to limit in 20 years the time for medical patents to expire, and this is not for new patents only, but any patent that has already exceeded 20 years. Some say this could be a bad move as it could drive labs away or keep labs from being installed in Brazil. In the #UnitedStates, it's 20 years.
A consortium composed of 9 governors from the Northeast of Brazil ordered nearly 49 million reals in ventilators from a company called #HempcarePharma (specialized in selling products related to the cannabis). The ventilators were never delivered and some people have already been arrested, including the owner, #CristianaPrestes, and her business partner, #LuizHenriqueRamos, but they were released after being heard by the police. She said they'd bring the ventilators from #China but noticed there was some issue with them only later. They then offered Brazilian-made ventilators instead and for a cheaper price, primising to deliver 480 units instead of 300. Problem is, the Brazilian ones were never approved by the regularoty agency (#Anvisa). #BrunoDauster, then secretary of the house staff in #Bahia, tried to solve the problem by convincing Prestes to increase the value of the contract in 52%, to which she refused, saying she didn't want to “RAPE THE STATE.” Prestes said she was surprised to receive all the money up front and so quickly (not common in this kind of contract in #Brazil), two days after the contract was signed. Also, Prestes was surprised when she received an order from a judge in #Araraquara, State of #SaoPaulo, to sign a donation document, since the mayor, #EdinhoSilva, informed he had ordered 30 ventilators and had not received any, and that they'd be paid by the consortium. #CarlosGarbas was assigned executive secretary of the consortium and was the person behind all the negotiations and contacts. Garbas has been involved in several corrupt cases, and his ascension to power came while he was ex-President #Dilma's driver, when he got a temporary employement in government as a senator's assistant making a lot more money. From then on, he kept moving up and growing in influence, became minister more than once. It's Garbas who made this deal with Araraquaras' mayor, which Prestes was not aware of. In other words, this #COVID committee, if going in the right direction, will reveal and clarify a myriad of intricate corruption like this one case seems to be.
During the police operation in #Jacarezinho Favela which resulted in one police officer and 27 criminals dead (and some others injured, including citizens) police found documents about the operation, suggesting someone in the department is leaking information.
The #PCC (Capital's First Command, one of Brazil's criminal organizations) is accused of laundering money diverted from the #pandemic help sent to #RiodeJaneiro.
#Twitter was not allowing a video to play where it shows the ex-president of the Senate and now president of a suspicious committee to investigate irregularities committed during the #pandemic#RenanCalheiros (one the perfect stereotypes of the “successful” Brazilian corrupt) throwing a tantrum when a senator suggests that they invite the federal police director to attend and help with the committee. #covid
Ex-president Fernando Henrique Cardoso, commonly referred to by Brazilians as #FHC, said in a recent interview about ex-president #Lula running in 2022 “MAKE DO WITH WHAT YOU HAVE” (or literally, “IF YOU CAN'T HUNT WITH A DOG, HUNT WITH A CAT), only confirming (once more) that he and his party, the #PSDB, differs nothing from the infamous leftwing #PT, except in the manners, being more diplomatic and keeping a profile low when it comes to pushing their Marxist agenda. #marxism
During President #Bolsonaro's daily stop to talk to supporters last week, a woman said “IN #FOZDOIGUACU, THEY ARE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT LOCKING PEOPLE DOWN AGAIN,” to which he replied “I ALREADY SENT THE MESSAGE I WANTED TO. FROM NOW ON, I'M GOING TO TAKE ACTION.” What he means by this is that he will take action against any mayor or governor that imposes a lockdown from now on, since, under the current circumstances, it's nearly unanimously considered to be unconstitutional.
The #SupremeCourt (#STF) Judge-Minister #Barroso, who said “WE DON'T FIX WHAT'S NOT BROKEN” referring to the wish of #conservatives and President #Bolsonaro to add paper trail to the voting machines, has started a campaign to push back in the hopes of getting enough votes in #Congress to block this change. He already posted three videos on YouTube. Among many things, he says “[THIS CAMPAIGN] IS ABOUT THE SECURITY, THE TRANSPARENCY, AND THE POSSIBILITY OF AUDIT OF THE BRAZILIAN PROCESS,” and also “IN THE VOTING MACHINES AND IN THE BRAZILIAN PROCESS YOU CAN TRUST.” The proposed system will allow the machine to print the vote so the voter can see it, but the voter won't be able to touch it; they will see it through a glass window. If the number and name on the paper is correct, the voter confirms it and the machine deposits the paper into a ballot box. It's two ways of auditing against one; but Barroso, who has been having a shameful role in the STF, is all in for pushing back on this change. The first video of the justice Barroso got 10,000 views and 95% dislikes, his second one got 38,000 views and 94% dislikes, and his third and latest one got 44,000 views and 89% dislike (as of May 15th). The comments are overwhelmingly negative and hostile to Barroso and the STF, showing how infamous and unpopular the Supreme Court is to the eyes of Brazilians. Unfortunately, even if #Congress approves the paper trail, the STF has the authority to block it, and the chances of them blocking it is high.
An 88-year-old Brazilian actor called #StenioGarcia took the two shots of the Chinese vaccine #Sinovac (under the research name #Coronavac) and tested positive for #COVID, calling the attention again to the long-reported low efficacy of this one vaccine. The test result said he didn't even develop any antibody. The Brazilian organization behind the import of Sinovac, #Butanta (Butantã), is pushing for a third vaccination.
#Niteroi's mayor imposed restrictions on what can be bought at supermarkets and grocery stores. According to him, only “essential” items can be sold from this Monday on. #RiodeJaneiro
A senator called #JorgeKajuru leaked a six-minute phone conversation he recorded between him and President #Bolsonaro discussing the request to open an investigation on the government's actions in relation to the #pandemic. In the audio, Bolsonaro tells #Kajuru, the main author of the investigation request, that, as is, the investigation will leave mayors and governors and #SupremeCourt (#STF) judges out of it, rendering an unfair and incomplete investigation. Kajuru asks the president to be more considerate of him because he is on his side. Bolsonaro says he believes in his good intention, but reinforces that he signed an investigation that aimed at questioning the government only and that no good intention could make up for this fact. He asks Kajuru to show his good intention by adding mayors and governors and Supreme Court judges into the request, since all of them took decisions of their own regarding the #pandemic, to which Kajuru fails to give a positive and confident answer. The request clearly asks “TO INVESTIGATE THE ACTIONS AND OMISSIONS OF THE FEDERAL GOV'T.” In a part where it says “JUSTIFICATION [FOR THE RESQUEST],” it starts with, “THE FEDERAL GOV'T HAS, SYSTEMICALLY, VIOLATED BASIC AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF THE BRAZILIAN POPULATION WHEN IT COMES TO LIFE AND HEALTH.” The reason he gave for the leak is that people was bothering him by saying he was having private conversations with the president, so he wanted to show he had nothing to hide. Problem is, #Globo, the biggest public television in #Brazil and also an openly antiBolsonaro organization, covered the leak in their Sunday night's show #Fantastico e Kajuru showed approval and reposted it on Twitter account. The fuel for animosity towards Bolsonaro had been low recently, and this leak was the fuel the opposition needed to raise hell again and boost their call for Bolsonaro's impeachment, alleging he was trying to interfere with the powers, trying to collude with a senator to go after the opposition. Further evidence Kajuru recorded and leaked the call with bad intention is a tweet where he says, “KASSIO, WE KNOW YOUR PRICE!!!” #KassioNunes is a conservative judge-minister appointed by Bolsonaro. Nunes signaled he would vote against the investigation if mayors and governors and judge-ministers weren't added to it. #COVID
The #Bolsonaro administration got a much higher value in investment from the ports' and airports' concessions bidding than they expected, making the left go nuts after months insinuating the government was a disaster and the world was afraid of investing in #Brazil. This also shows that many foreign investors are not that naive to rely only on what the mainstream media reports.
A judge in the city of #Franca, state of #SaoPaulo, issued an injunction where he says it is unconstitutional for a mayor or governor to order a #lockdown or a curfew (or both). He wrote, “[...] I NOTE THAT, AS OF NOW, THERE'S NO INFORMATION ABOUT A CALLING FOR A STATE OF DEFENSE OR OF EMERGENCY BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, THE ONLY AUTHORITY WITH A SUCH POWER—AFTER CONSULTING THE REPUBLIC COUNCIL AND WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE #CONGRESS [...] IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE [...] #CONSTITUTION OF 1988.” This is the first rule of its kind and it might encourage other judges to take heart and follow suit. The fact that this city is located in São Paulo makes the injunction look even more important, since Governor #Doria has shown the strongest opposition to the #Bolsonaro administration and has used all his power to set SP as an example of antagonism in the hopes of destabilizing the gov't and encouraging other governors to do the same. Just last week, the mayor of #Aparecida, another city in SP that is highly dependent on tourism, gave a touching interview where he calls for food donations, says the unemployment rate is in 70%, and breaks down in front of the camera. #covid#pandemic
The president of the #SupremeCourt (#STF) said he accepts an invitation from #Bolsonaro to meet with him this week to discuss a national plan to fight the #pandemic. Although the Brazilian states are not as independent to take decisions on their own as are the American states, the STF ruled early on that the measures would be up to the states. The chairs of the #Congress and the #Senate, and some governors and mayors are also expected to attend this meeting. #COVID
During #Bolsonaro's daily morning stop to talk to supporters on his way to office, he said, “WHAT HAVE I BEEN SAYING? CHAOS IS COMING. HUNGER WILL TAKE PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR HOMES. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE PROBLEMS WE NEVER EXPECTED WE WOULD. SERIOUS SOCIAL PROBLEMS. [...] WHERE ARE WE GOING TO END UP? I WONDER IF THE GOV'T WILL HAVE TO TAKE SOME DECISION BEFORE THAT HAPPENS. IS THE POPULATION READY FOR SOME HARSH MEASURE FROM THE GOV'T REGARDING THIS ISSUE? WHAT DO I MEAN BY HARSH? TO GUARANTEE PEOPLE'S FREEDOM, TO GIVE BACK TO THE PEOPLE THEIR RIGHT TO WORK.”
The Prosecutors Office along with the State Fiscal Court signed a document asking for the temporary removal of President #Bolsonaro's power over decisions related to the fight against the #pandemic, and not only the president's, but also the ministers of health's, of state's, of economy's, and others the Fiscal Court views as to have contributed to the chaos caused by the pandemic. In the document, the Vice-President #HamiltonMourao is asked to occupy Bolsonaro's position. Everything about this document is absurd, and it shows, or confirms, something more important than the fact that the deep state is alive and kicking, which is the fact that the vice-president is not on Bolsonaro's side. #mourao
The conservative movement in Brazil has been building a self-damaging relationship with #CNN. #CNNBrasil started its operations during the conservative wave, and since then they have opted for showing little to no bias, but TBB believes this has been a tactic to gain popularity. It never made sense to us that CNN Brazil would have a very different approach to politics compared to CNN International and to CNN in the #UnitedStates, which are actively working against conservatives, against the right. Proof of this self-damaging relationship was recently shown in one of #LucianoHulk's tweet. Hulk is widely famous for his TV shows, has been a strong critic of the #Bolsonaro administration, and considers running for president in 2022. He wrote in his tweet, “BRAZIL WAS ALWAYS ADMIRED BY THE WORLD BECAUSE OF THE HAPPINESS OF ITS PEOPLE. TODAY WE ARE SCARING. HOW SAD! CNN AMERICA SEES US AS A THREAT, A COUNTRY GOING AGAINST PROGRESS WITH A GOV'T THAT HAS UNDERESTIMATED SCIENCE AND VACCINE.” If a Brazilian thinks CNN Brazil is reasonably unbiased, how trustful will any other CNN's opinion be for this person? #conservatives#liberals#fakenews#misinformation#disinformation
#RibeiraoPreto's justice ruled that the statewide #lockdown imposed by #SaoPaulo Governor #JoaoDoria is unconstitutional, saying that it can only be imposed by the president and with the approval of the #Congress. Although lockdowns and curfews imposed by mayors' and governors' decrees are unequivocally unconstitutional, and this fact has been exhaustively exposed on the media ever since the first ones were put in place, Ribeirão Preto is the first Brazilian city to effectively do something to uphold the Constitution. This is a remarkable event, especially considering it's a city . #covid#pandemic
#Criciuma's Mayor #ClesioSalvaro, State of #SantaCatarina, signed a #lockdown bill that, in his words, “HAS A CATCH: [HOMEY WITH NO MONEY; this was us trying to rhyme. He actually said, lockdown without income]. YOU DON'T WANT TO COME TO WORK? FINE. YOU WANT TO PROTECT YOURSELF? GREAT. YOU'LL BE ALLOWED TO STAY AT HOME, BUT YOU WON'T RECEIVE YOUR SALARY.” He also said, “EVERY JOB IS ESSENTIAL.” #pandemic#covid
A study done with more than 500 people in #Amazon shows that patients in serious conditions that took
The news show #OsPingosNosIs often brings on air mayors of cities that haven't gone on a #lockdown and are doing well, with low #COVID cases, and mayors from cities that are being devastated economically, and last night they brought on air #AparecidadoNorte's Mayor #LuizCarlosdeSiqueira, city located in the State of #SaoPaulo. Aparecida means shown up, or Shown Up in the North, referring to when fishermen found an statue of the Virgin Mary. The interview was heartbreaking. The city is highly dependent on tourism. People from across the country, especially Catholics, go there to pay their homage to the Virgin Mary and to shop related products. The city has a high revenue on the weekends, but due to the imposed lockdown by Governor #JoaoDoria, the city lost most of its revenue and the unemployment rate is 70%. He has talked to people that are contemplating suicide and desperate business owners looking for alternative solutions. The mayor can't hold his tears and asks for food donations. Aparecida has a population of about 36 thousand. #pandemic
Federal attorney #LindoraAraujo sent a request to all 27 governors demanding from them answers to the following questions: 1. HOW MANY AND WHERE ARE LOCATED THE FIELD HOSPITALS THAT WERE BUILT IN THE STATE? 2. HOW MANY FIELD HOSPITALS WERE BUILT BUT NEVER OPENED? AND, AMONG THE ONES THAT ARE OPEN, PLEASE INFORM THE DATE THEY OPENED. 3. LIST THE NAME OF THE FIELD HOSPITALS THAT ARE OPEN, AND INFORM THE DATE AND REASON FOR THE CLOSURE OF THE ONES THAT WERE CLOSED. 4. WHAT WAS DONE WITH THE STRUCTURE AND EVERYTHING IN THE FIELD HOSPITALS' THAT WERE CLOSED? They have until this Friday to provide with the information. #pandemic#covid
Governors and mayors in Brazil are tightening the #pandemic measures with more lockdowns and curfews, and people are calling out some politicians that until recently were resisting the media gloominess and pressure. One of them is #MinasGerais' governor #RomeuZema, who decided to make a statewide recommendation for tighter measures. At least two mayors (that were widely exposed in the media) in this state have not shut down or curfew'd and have not got any higher infection and death rates in their cities, but are even receiving patients from other cities. Many of #Zema's voters are not happy.
About 500 people marched in front of #RioGrandedoSul's gov't building in protest against the lockdown measures. #covid#pandemic
Due to the controversial nullification of former president #Lula's sentence, General Luiz Eduardo Rocha Paiva, member of the gov't's Amnesty Commission, wrote and published a letter on the Military Club's website condemning the action, but although the Armed Forces expressing their disapproval is welcome and help the people feel that they are paying attention and are sharing the same outrage—better late than never—, two parts of the text sound disheartening. In one he wrote, “THE #STF (#SupremeCourt) GAVE A FATAL BLOW TO THE BALANCE OF POWERS, ONE OF THE PILLARS OF THE DEMOCRATIC REGIME AND OF THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL PEACE.” What does 'fatal blow' means here if the military hasn't done anything? Ok, he may be referring to the next one. There should be some action on the next one or the phrase 'fatal blow' will have meant nothing. In another part, in the very beginning, he wrote, “[JUDGE-]MINISTER FACHIN'S DECISION, FREEING LULA FROM HIS SENTENCE, WAS A SLAP ON THE FACE (FORGIVE ME THE EXPRESSION) OF THE BRAZILIAN NATION.” Yes, he apologized for using the expression bofetada, which is a synonym of tapa ('slap'), and which in no way sounds rude or too strong. It's worth remembering Judge-Minister #AlexandredeMoraes hurt the #Constitution badly twice between 2019 and last month, when he, also monocratically, accused, investigated, arrested, judged, and sentenced; first a journalist, and then a congressman. According to the Constitution, #Moraes could have been arrested by President #Bolsonaro, who chose not to.
The population of #AngradosReis, in #RiodeJaneiro, invaded City Hall. They are outraged by the mayor's decision to put a lockdown in place, after he ran in 2020 promising alignment with #Bolsonaro and no more strong restriction measures. A video shows people forcing their way in and one guard trying to keep them out. As they are entering they chant “WE WANT TO WORK!” Angra dos Reis does not have a high #COVID infection or death rate and the excuse the mayor gave was that the country is going through a hard time. #pandemic#lockdown
#JanainaPaschoal, coauthor of former president #DilmaRousseff's impeachment, believes the reason behind judge-minister #Fachin's decision to nullify #Lula's sentence is the fear that even more damning messages leaked from #LavaJato become public. If Fachin's intention was to halt the investigations on the illegal practices in the operation, this was still not fully accomplished as the Superior Justice Court (#STJ) is still willing to proceed with the investigation. #dilma#moro#dallagnol
The republican-like Congresswoman #BiaKicis was elected as president of the Constitution and Justice Commission in Congress. This is a big win for the #Bolsonaro administration. With her and a less partisan president in Congress, #Bolsonaro should see most of his projects at least go for a vote.
After the Department (Ministry) of Culture announced that it will no longer approve money for events that can't happen under a regular planning schedule for any reason, like lockdown or renovation, the Brazilian Lawyers Association (#OAB) issued a letter criticizing the decision, claiming it to contribute for the destruction of culture. Secretary (Minister) #MarioFrias tweeted, “I HAVE A QUESTION: IS OAB DEFENDING OUR CULTURE OR THE PERCENTAGE LAW FIRMS RECEIVE FOR EVERY SINGLE PROJECT THAT'S APPROVED UNDER THE ROUANET LAW?” Law firms receive 15% of the money. OAB has been criticized for it's open leftist political activism. Many people consider it a disgrace for the country, not only for the activism per se, but for the fact that lawyers can't work without their approval and without paying them, even though a lawyer is graduated. OAB seems to be a union disguised as an association, and as with the majority of unions you are forced to pay, they don't need to convince you that it's worth paying them.
One of the judge-ministers of the #SupremeCourt (#STF), #EdsonFachin, in a monocratic decision, nullified the sentence former president #Lula received in four charges, meaning he can no longer even be considered a ex-criminal, and also he's got back all his rights to run for a political position. Fachin always showed support for the left before he was appointed to be judge-minister in 2015 by former president #DilmaRousseff, for whom he recorded a campaign video in her favor in 2010. But, this, per se, still doesn't fully explain his monocratic and outrageous decision. What might be a reason behind it was the imminent arrest of #DeltanDallagnol and #SergioMoro. Lula's sentence's nullification means illegal #LavaJato practices would have no more legal implications. According to a tweet by #Dallagnol, #Fachin's argument for the nullification was that Lula's process should have taken place in #Brasilia, not #Curitiba, due to jurisdiction issues, an opinion Dallagnol disagrees on and writes it had been already discussed by the STF. Coincidentally or not, 2 days prior to Fachin's decision, Lula is reported asking #FernandoHaddad (who ran against #Bolsonaro) if he'd be his vice in a future campaign, and 1 day prior, democrat-like Senator #HumbertoCosta tweeted a picture of Lula at a gym with the text, “YOU BETTER GET READY...” Fachin's decision will be reviewed by the full bench. Some judge-ministers are (allegedly) not Ok by the prospect of seeing #Moro get away with his illegal actions. #haddad
Two videos posted last weekend show the front of #SaoPaulo's mayor, #JoaoDoria, home being heavily secured. In them, we can spot 1 full-size VAN, 15 cars (compact hatches, and small and mid-size SUVs), 8 motorcycles, and at least 23 police officers. Later on the weekend, a group of dozens of people gathered at one corner of his street (that was blocked) to protest the excessive security, the high expenses in propaganda by the state, the strong pandemic measures, and the fact that his son was filmed making a party in one of his dad's companies' buildings where nobody (that was captured in the video) where wearing a mask or were social distancing. According to conservative congressman #GilDiniz, there were at least 250 police officers there. We still don't know the reason why for such security. The video of his son's party immediately got viral and call #Doria's attention, who went there to personally confront the person who posted the images. He starts speaking to her without a mask while pointing his finger at her, and he says she's posting fake videos. He exposed her full name on social media and kept pushing that she posted fake videos, and now she's planning to seek compensation for doxing and false accusation. She's to be heard this Wednesday at the police. #covid#pandemic#fakenews
In #SaoPaulo there is this area were many crack addicts get together to use this and other drugs. It's a skid row, it's called #Cracolandia ('Crackoland'). Despite all the governor's and mayor's virtual signaling, nothing's been done there to prevent agglomeration. You see no police officers dispersing or arresting people there; no social workers, no volunteer doctors and nurses,... #covid#doria
The #SupremeCourt (#STF) already got the majority of the judge-ministers to agree on renewing the power of the states to decide over their health measures regardless of the gov't recommendations. Only one judge-minister hasn't declared his side yet, #KassioNunes, appointed by #Bolsonaro. The president was hopeful that the STF would not renew the states' autonomy. #pandemic
A city called #Guaraciaba, #SantaCatarina, is considering mandating #COVID infected (or suspected) people to wear a wrist band so they can be easily identified and kept from crowding places. If this idea goes ahead, citizens will also be encouraged to inform on people who go out without their wrist band.
The State of #RioGrandedoSul entered phase black until the 21st, and during this time only essential products can be sold on supermarkets. Some widely circulated photos show a supermarket with carts and barricade tapes blocking certain aisles. #covid
#RiodeJaneiro's mayor #EduardoPaes is going for a new #lockdown, and now his order says that bars and restaurants must be closed after 5pm. The association of this kind of business predicts 1 thousand people will be losing their jobs for every week they are closed.
“ESSENTIAL SERVICE IS ANY ONE THAT'S NEEDED FOR THE BREADWINNER OF THE FAMILY TO PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE!” President #Bolsonaro on #Twitter.
The Dept (Ministry) of Education sent a letter to universities saying that political manifestations by professors will result in notifications and can lead to punishments. In response, 25 regional attorneys offices sent a letter to the Citizen Rights' Attorneys Office asking it to reinforce and clarify the need to respect #freedomofexpression, even inside educational institutions and when expressed by faculty members.
The #COVID relief bill was approved by the #Senate, and if the spending doesn't surpass 44 billion reals, it won't be subjected to strict fiscal rules. On the other hand, the gov't was able to add new fiscal regulations for future general spending in this bill. Apparently, the strategy was, “here's 44 billion for you to make your party, as long as this is the last one.” Will it work?
Last year, #Bolsonaro's first reaction to the news of cities and states and companies forcing the vaccination was, “MANDATORY VACCINATION, ONLY OVER MY DEAD BODY!” Now, the gov't is buying a lot of vaccine doses, and it won't take longer until there are enough vaccines for the whole population. Will Bolsonaro still do anything to prevent people from being forced to take the vaccine? #covid
The Attorneys Office of the State of #Goias issued a letter saying that they are for the use of #hydroxychloroquine and #ivermectin for #COVID prevention. Attorneys Offices have been criticized for not expressing or taking too long to express their position regarding this and governors' and mayors' #abuseofpower by sending the police to arrest law-abiding citizens and to shut down businesses.
#SaoPaulo governor #Doria ordered 14 more days of lockdown. His #COVID Contingency Center secretary said that it should be “at least” that number. São Paulo's secretary of health, on the other hand, is not in agreement with Dória's decision and said, “WITH THE LOCKDOWN, PEOPLE WILL DIE OF HUNGER.” In #Bahia, the governor extended the lockdown (and curfew) till April 1st. Regarding to new and to the extending of lockdowns and curfews, #Bolsonaro said, “IF I HAVE THE POWER TO DECIDE, I HAVE MY OWN PLAN AND IT'S READY TO BE PUT IN PLACE, BUT I NEED TO HAVE THIS AUTHORITY. [...] IF THE #SUPREMECOURT (#STF) UNDERSTANDS THAT THE MANAGEMENT OF THIS CAN FALL INTO THE GOV'T'S HANDS, [...] I AM READY TO PUT MY PLAN IN PLACE.” Curiously (and tragically), São Paulo is not increasing the quantity of buses, and train and subway cars in order to allow for proper social distancing.
#Brazil's GDP fell 4.1% during the #pandemic, being the most negative since 1996. The result, though, was better than what the #IPEA predicted (5%), #XPInvestments predicted (6%), the #OECD predicted (6%), and the #IMF predicted (9.1%). Compared to some other countries, Brazil did worse than the #UnitedStates (3.5%), for instance, but less worse than #Japan (4.8%), #Germany (5%), #France (8.2%), the #UnitedKingdom (9.9%), and #Spain (11%). Considering that Brazil has quite a precarious health system, that the #SupremeCourt (#STF) granted the states power to put health measures in place regardless of the gov't'l recommendations—thus leading many states and cities to go for lockdowns—and that many mayors and governors have been antagonizing the president by just doing to opposite in order to wear off #Bolsonaro's image, it did not do that bad. A poll by the media company #JovemPan asking who was the main responsible for this GDP fall—and got 35 thousand votes—shows that 96.8% believe it was mayors' and governors'. #covid#coronavirus
Leftist comedian #DaniloGentili wrote in a tweet, “I WOULD ONLY BELIEVE THIS COUNTRY CAN BE SAVED IF THE POPULATION GOT INTO THE CONGRESS RIGHT NOW AND PUNCHED EVERY CONGRESSPERSON THAT'S DISCUSSING [IN FAVOR OF] THE [SPEECH] IMMUNITY BILL.” Some congresspeople, seeing the chance to put the #SupremeCourt (#STF) on the wall due to its decision to arrest Congressperson #DanielSilveira for a #thoughtcrime, are demanding the STF orders Gentili's arrest. Judge-minister #AlexandredeMoraes, who alone decided for Silveira's arrest, asked the Attorney-General #AugustoAras (appointed by #Bolsonaro) for his word on this matter. Moraes might be trying to dilute his responsibility and raise animosity in Congress, since Aras' support for Gentili's arrest will please some groups in Congress and angry others, and if he goes against it, it will please and anger opposite sides.
A police commissioner who cooperated with the #LavaJato operation was processed and eventually punished when he denounced that some of the Lava Jato investigative tactics were illegal. This commissioner, #MarioFanton, accused the operation of illegally wiretapping and of covering another Lava Jato commissioner, ErikaMarena, who forged a testimony. Marena is one of the responsibles for ordering the illegal wiretappings. And, #DeltanDallagnol, impressed and excited with the popularity #LavaJato commissioners and prosecutors were having, started discussing opening a company to make money giving lectures. In one of the leaked messages he wrote, “LET'S ORGANIZE CONFERENCES AND EVENTS, OK? THIS IS A GOOD WAY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR NETWORKING AND VISIBILITY.” [...] “BEFORE TAKING STEPS TO OPEN THIS COMPANY, WE SHOULD HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN AND A CLEAR VIEW OF EACH ONE'S EXPECTATIONS. FOR THE BUSINESS PLAN, WE SHOULD LOOK UP FOR THE LATEST EVENTS AND PRICES.” In another part, he explains that they'd better set up their company as an NGO institution and have a professional company organize the events and charge for the lectures, so they could receive the money in a different way, thus avoiding legal questionings and the negative repercussion with the public.
The mayor of the State of #SaoPaulo, #JoaoDoria, wants luxury cars seized by the police to be used as police cars. Some people have expressed disapproval for the idea of stopping selling luxury cars in auctions and start spending money on maintaining them as police cars. A regular luxury car, which, on average, has a lower mileage, is already very expensive to maintain, and there is also the higher expense to make any adaptations to the car, since it will be done on demand.
The mayor of #Florianopolis, #GeanLoureiro, decided to have spend some vacation time in #Cancun, and while he was there he decided to restart a #lockdown period, and that's when his trip became big news. After getting back, he apologized for the trip. He wrote he needed some vacation and he thought having online meetings would be enough to make up his physical absence. He said he couldn't get back sooner because he had to wait for a COVID test result in order to fly and because he had a hard time to reschedule his flight for sooner.
Despite the fact that the #pandemic resulted in a lot of businesses losing revenue or closing, thus cities and states seeing their tax revenue go down dangerously, these ones finished 2020 with 94% more money on average. The only explanation for this, so far, is the billions and billions in relief money they have received from the gov't. What could be behind this lack of expenses in such a time so many people are in need of material and financial support while they are, on average, generating less money in taxes? #corruption#covid
The 46th Independent Military Police Campaign of the State of #Bahia posted a photo of a bag with 5 long neck bottles of beer inside, saying it was seized from a citizen who was seen outside during the period of #curfew and taken to the police station. Many people expressed outrage, since Bahia has one of the highest (real) crime rates in Brazil and they found disgusting the fact that a highly trained police was proud enough of such an arrest to show it on Instagram.
The Medicine Regional Council of [the State of] #DistritoFederal (#CRM) published a one-page letter titled “PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT AGAINST THE #LOCKDOWN,” and the first paragraph starts with, “THE CRM-DF IS AGAINST THE LOCKDOWN AS AN EFFECTIVE MEASURE FOR THE CONTROL OF SARS-COV-2.” #covid