In Covid Investigation Testimony, Former Health Minister Points to Bolsonaro's Contempt for Science

[Judi Lynn]

Statements by Henrique Mandetta will be used by the rapporteur

May.5.2021 1:08PM

Renato Machado
Constança Rezende
Julia Chaib

BRASÍLIA
On the first day of testimonies for the investigation into Jair Bolsonaro's management of the Covid pandemic, former health minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta stated that President Jair Bolsonaro went against science-based Ministry of Health guidelines for fighting the coronavirus pandemic.



Handout picture released by the Brazilian Senate showing former Brazilian Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta speaking during a session of the Parliamentary Inquiry Commission that will investigate the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic in Brasilia on May 4, 2021. (Photo by JEFFERSON RUDY / AGENCIA SENADO / AFP) - AFP

In a deposition of more than seven hours given this Tuesday (4) in the commission, Mandetta also said that Bolsonaro adopted a negationist speech that may have contributed to Covid-19 spreading more quickly.

The former minister, dismissed by Bolsonaro on April 16, 2020, said he even wrote a letter to the president in defense of social isolation, which was delivered at a meeting with other ministers at the Palácio da Alvorada. "It was very embarrassing for a health minister to explain that the health minister was going one way and the president the other," he said.

https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/brazil/2021/05/in-covid-investigation-testimony-former-health-minister-points-to-bolsonaros-contempt-for-science.shtml?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsen

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