During his speech, which lasted about five minutes, Jair Bolsonaro highlighted a number of measures taken by the government in various spheres of activity, and stressed that “it did not force anyone to stay at home, it does not close businesses or close churches or schools” during the pandemic.
“I deeply feel every lost life in our country. Today [terça-feira], we have reached the milestone of 100 million doses of vaccines distributed across states and municipalities. Brazil is the fourth most vaccinated country on the planet. This year all Brazilians who wish will be vaccinated, ”he said.
However, the covid-19 vaccination campaign is progressing slowly in Brazil, where only 10.6% of Brazilians (22.6 million people) received the full dose of the vaccine.
Bolsonaro also mentioned a technology transfer agreement between the Brazilian state-owned company Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz) and AstraZeneca to manufacture vaccines in the country.
The head of state indicated that the agreement signed on Tuesday will allow Brazil to enter the “elite” of vaccine-producing countries.
Bolsonaro reiterated that he remains “within the four lines of the constitution,” and stressed that he did not act as governors and mayors who have taken tough measures to contain the spread of the virus.
“Our government operates within four lines of the Constitution, considers the right to come and go, the right to work and the freedom to practice religious beliefs are not negotiable. All of our 22 ministers see their freedom as the greatest blessing for our people, ”Bolsonaro said, denying the seriousness of COVID-19, which he even called“ little flu ”.
The president also drew attention to economic data released this week and said that Brazil’s gross domestic product (GDP) is forecast to grow by about 4% this year, recovering to pre-pandemic levels.
“We ended 2020 with more formal jobs than 2019. (…) We conducted auctions on highways, ports and airports. We have provided the Internet to more than eight million Brazilians, mainly in the northern and northeastern regions, ”he stressed.
“The stock exchange has broken an all-time record, the Brazilian currency is strengthening and we are moving forward in a difficult privatization process. (…) State-owned companies have suffered tens of billions of reais losses in the past due to systematic and widespread corruption. They are profitable today. (…) Only in the first quarter of this year the economy showed its dynamics, becoming one of the highest countries in the world, ”he added.
Bolsonaro also mentioned hosting the America’s Cup soccer in Brazil, ensuring that the same protocols for the Copa Libertadores and World Cup qualifiers are followed.
During the broadcast, the Brazilian president was targeted by a “pot” in several cities across the country, and residents demanded that Jair Bolsonaro’s power be taken away under the sound of blows on metal objects such as pots.
Bolsonaro’s statements came just four days after hundreds of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets on Saturday to demand the president’s resignation and massive vaccinations in the country.
Brazil, one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic, has already reported 467,706 deaths and 16,720,081 cases of COVID-19, and experts are predicting a third wave of disease in the coming weeks.
According to the French agency AFP, the covid-19 pandemic has caused at least 3,681,985 deaths worldwide, resulting in more than 171 million infections.
Of the 850,262 confirmed infections in Portugal, 17,026 have died, according to the latest bulletin from the General Directorate of Health.
The disease is transmitted by a new coronavirus discovered at the end of 2019 in Wuhan, a city in central China.
