In European Parliament, Conectas denounces government measures to undermine the fight against Covid-19
The organization also exposed the escalation of human rights and socio-environmental violations in Brazil in the context of the pandemic
O presidente Jair Bolsonaro acompanhou, da área externa do Palácio do Planalto, em Brasília, a manifestação de apoiadores de seu governo, que está sendo realizada neste domingo (15) na capital federal e em outras cidades do país.
Actions by the Bolsonaro government that worsened the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil were denounced on Thursday, April 15, at a hearing in the European Parliament. “This is a painful moment for the Brazilian population. We are facing a devastating humanitarian tragedy,” said the program director at Conectas Human Rights, Camila Asano, in her statement at the hearing.
Watch the video of the statement by Conectas here
To illustrate the proactive steps taken by the federal government to prevent measures that could protect the population and combat the pandemic, Asano cited the following cases: the expansion of activities considered essential, the interruption of emergency income support for months and the failure to distribute oxygen to hospitals in the city of Manaus. She also described as “shameful” the slow pace of vaccination against the virus, pointing out that the refusal to “negotiate the acquisition of vaccines in advance” is now reflected in the low number of immunized Brazilians. To date, less than 4% of people have received the second dose of the vaccine.
Finally, the representative of Conectas pointed out that instead of concentrating efforts on slowing the Covid-19 outbreak, President Jair Bolsonaro spent his time relaxing gun control, weakening environmental protection mechanisms and attacking democratic institutions, journalists and civil society organizations.
Organized by the European Parliament Delegation for relations with the Federative Republic of Brazil, this partially in-person event took place in Brussels, Belgium.
Also attending the hearing were members of the European Parliament, the Head of Division South America of the European Union, Veronique Lorenzo, and the representative of PAHO (Pan American Health Organization) in Brazil, Socorro Gross Galiano.
