- Aug 18, 2012
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The dismissive attitudes of both Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador could result in many deaths for Latin America's most populated nations.
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Mr. Bolsonaro, a far-right leader who has been in office a little more than a year, has remained defiant, continuing to dismiss the virus as a “measly cold” that does not warrant “hysteria.”
In a national address Tuesday night, Mr. Bolsonaro dismissed measures taken by governors and mayors as a “scorched earth” approach. Mr. Bolsonaro, who is 65, also said that if he were to get the virus, he would recover easily because of his “athletic background.”
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Obrador:
Ruling out travel restrictions, business closings or quarantine orders, last week Mr. López Obrador suggested Mexico would be spared by divine intervention as he held up two amulets he called “my bodyguards.”
“Do not panic, and please do not stop going out,” he said in a video Sunday night. “If you have the economic capacity, keep taking your families to restaurants, because that means strengthening the family and popular economy.”
It was not until Tuesday that his government closed schools, prohibited gatherings of more than 100 people and told Mexicans to stay at home. By then, the Mexico City government had already moved to shut down much of public life.
As Latin America Shuts Down to Fight Virus, Brazil and Mexico Are Holdouts
***
Mr. Bolsonaro, a far-right leader who has been in office a little more than a year, has remained defiant, continuing to dismiss the virus as a “measly cold” that does not warrant “hysteria.”
In a national address Tuesday night, Mr. Bolsonaro dismissed measures taken by governors and mayors as a “scorched earth” approach. Mr. Bolsonaro, who is 65, also said that if he were to get the virus, he would recover easily because of his “athletic background.”
***
Obrador:
Ruling out travel restrictions, business closings or quarantine orders, last week Mr. López Obrador suggested Mexico would be spared by divine intervention as he held up two amulets he called “my bodyguards.”
“Do not panic, and please do not stop going out,” he said in a video Sunday night. “If you have the economic capacity, keep taking your families to restaurants, because that means strengthening the family and popular economy.”
It was not until Tuesday that his government closed schools, prohibited gatherings of more than 100 people and told Mexicans to stay at home. By then, the Mexico City government had already moved to shut down much of public life.
As Latin America Shuts Down to Fight Virus, Brazil and Mexico Are Holdouts
