Page - 528 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

VULNERABLE528 Brazil25 Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has sought to resume business as usual regardless of its potentially lethal consequences, even firing his previous health minister for public remarks on the need for lockdowns and physical distancing. Official figures likely greatly understate the gravity of the situation, as there is no standardized testing method, and it is the hospitalized who are mainly being tested. The death toll is expected to be high due to late and inadequate action. Meanwhile, Brazil is digging graves around the clock in anticipation of continuing deaths due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Despite the life-threatening risks, Bolsonaro has dismissed the threat as a media-hyped “fantasy” and preventive measures as “hysterical.” He has disregarded physical distancing recommenda- tions, urging others to also defy them, while demanding that Brazil’s 27 state governors withdraw their safe distancing orders, which have been closing shops and schools to slow the pandemic that threatens to overwhelm its health care system. An executive order tried unsuccess- fully to strip states of the authority to restrict people’s movements. Not unlike other leaders, Bolsonaro has not hesitated to mislead the public while accusing his opponents of doing so. As he loses support from the Brazilian elite over his handling of the crisis, he has tried to centralize authority by various means, with apparent Army support, even calling for a military coup to enhance federal executive powers to prevent and, if necessary, repress an increasingly anticipated social explosion. Argentina26 Like much of the West, Argentina did not take many early precau- tionary actions, but became the first Latin American country to act decisively,27 with a March 12 public health emergency presidential 25. Anis Chowdhury & Jomo Kwame Sundaram, “Covid-19: Brazil’s Bolsonaro Trumps Trump”, Inter Press Service (21 April 2020), online: <http://www.ipsnews. net/2020/04/covid-19-brazils-bolsonaro-trumps-trump/>. 26. Anis Chowdhury & Jomo Kwame Sundaram, “Argentina Responds Boldly to Coronavirus Crisis”, Inter Press Service (5 May 2020), online: <https://www. ipsnews.net/2020/05/argentina-responds-boldly-coronavirus-crisis/>. 27. Peru was the second Latin American country to act. President Martín Vizcarra announced coronavirus lockdowns on March 16 effective from March 17. Argentina’s lockdown was effective from March 19.