Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro rode on the head of a big bike rally by his supporters on Sunday amid harsh criticism over his administration of the coronavirus pandemic.
Brazil is one of the worst hit nations on this planet by the pandemic having suffered 420,000 deaths.
Surrounded by safety guards, Bolsonaro led tons of of motorcyclists using from the presidential palace within the capital Brasilia for a one-hour journey across the heart of city to mark Mother’s Day.
“We had a really significant issue final yr, one thing that no-one anticipated: the pandemic. But little by little we’re successful,” far-right leader Bolsonaro told his supporters.
“Rest assured, as supreme commander of the Armed Forces, my army will never go into the streets to keep you in your homes.”
At the tip of the rally, Bolsonaro, a fierce critic of social lockdown measures to comprise the unfold of the virus, took images and shook palms with supporters, many of whom, like him, weren’t sporting face masks.
“I’m participating within the occasion to assist the whole lot (the federal government) has accomplished these previous couple of years to avoid wasting Brazil,” said protester Carlos Toledo, 61.
Although the number of new coronavirus cases has dropped in recent weeks, Brazil has the highest fatality rate in the Americas and the southern hemisphere.
Bolsonaro supporters also took to the streets in several major cities such as Brasilia, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro during Labor Day celebrations just over a week ago.
That came just three days after the Senate began an investigation into the government’s management of the pandemic.
Testifying to the Senate on Tuesday, former health minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta, who was sacked in April 2020 for promoting social distancing, said he had “systematically” warned Bolsoanro concerning the “very severe penalties” of his lax approach to tackling the pandemic.
The next day, Mandetta’s successor Nelson Teich said he’d resigned over pressure from Bolsonaro to promote malaria drug chloroquine as a remedy for Covid-19 despite experts’ insistence tha it is ineffective and even potentially harmful.
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