Bolsonaro joins anti-lockdown protest despite worsening outbreak in Brazil

World Today

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday joined hundreds of demonstrators outside army headquarters in the capital Brasilia protesting stay-at-home orders issued by state governors.

The crowd of around 600 called on the army to intervene in the handling of the coronavirus pandemic and demanded the closure of Congress. Some held up posters declaring “Military intervention with Bolsonaro.”

“I am here because I believe in you and you are here because you believe in Brazil,” the president told the crowd from the back of a pick-up truck.

Bolsonaro, a former army captain, has constantly criticized partial quarantine measures adopted by governors, including those in charge of the country’s most populous states, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

On Friday, he sacked his health minister, who supported the restrictions that Bolsonaro says are damaging the economy.