In Covid Investigation Testimony, Former Health Minister Points to Bolsonaro's Contempt for Science
Statements by Henrique Mandetta will be used by the rapporteur
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.
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.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon