Bolsonaro files new appeal in top court against anti-Covid-19 measures
Brasilia, May 27 (EFE).- Brazil’s president filed a new appeal Thursday in the Supreme Court against health measures taken by some local governments to contain cases of Covid-19, a disease that has already killed nearly 457,000 people in the country.
Jair Bolsonaro, through the Attorney General’s Office (AGU), which represents the Brazilian state, asked the top court to declare “unconstitutional” certain restrictions to combat the pandemic that he considered “disproportionate.”
In particular, the appeal seeks to have all measures similar to the lockdowns and curfews imposed by some Brazilian states to be struck down.
The AGU said in a statement that the aim of the action was to ensure the coexistence of citizens’ fundamental rights and guarantees, including the right to freedom of movement and the right to work and subsistence along with their right to life and health.
In this context, the AGU asked the Supreme Court to consider the “devastating” effects that “extreme and prolonged” measures also have on “education”, “family and social relationships”, as well as on “the physical and mental health” of the population.
This is not the first time that the far-right leade,r who denies the severity of the pandemic, has turned to the highest judicial authority in the country to curb the anti-Covid measures implemented by regional and municipal administrations.
In March, the president appealed a series of decrees declared by the governments of Bahia, Rio Grande do Sul and the Federal District of Brasilia to curfews to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
However, his appeal was struck down by Judge Marco Aurelio Mello.
His new appeal comes at a time when the country is experiencing a new surge of coronavirus infections that is causing concern among epidemiologists as the public health system is still under a lot of pressure
Bolsonaro said in his usual social media broadcast on Thursday that no one could take any more lockdowns.
The AGU stressed that the new appeal filed did not challenge previous decisions of the Supreme Court that recognized the competence of states and municipalities to take such measures, but believed that some of them were not compatible with inviolable constitutional principles and needed to be endorsed by the respective legislative chambers.
In the last seven days, Brazil has recorded an average of 64,000 daily new infections and 1,800 deaths, according to official data.
Since the start of the pandemic, Bolsonaro has dismissed the seriousness of the disease, which he refers to as a “little flu,” criticized the use of masks and rejected restrictions on movement, which he argues are damaging the economy.
His handling of the pandemic is currently being investigated by a senate commission.
Brazil has recorded the second highest number of Covid-19 deaths after the United States and has the third highest caseload, following the US and India. EFE
cms/pd/lds
