News Analysis India

Tag: Bolsonaro

  • Brazil President Bolsonaro Says ‘COVID-19 Vaccine Can Turn People Into Crocodiles’

    In a bizarre remark on COVID-19 vaccines, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said that the vaccine developed by Pfizer- BioNTech could turn people into ‘crocodiles’ or ‘bearded ladies’. Earlier this weak, when Brazil launched its mass inoculation drive, Bolsonaro said that he won’t get vaccinated. Ever since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic across the globe, the Brazilian President has been sceptical of the virus and also termed it as a “little flu”.

    As per the local media reports, Jair Bolsonaro said that he will not need the COVID-19 vaccine because he has already tested positive for Coronavirus due to which his body has developed the antibodies for the virus. This statement from the country’s President comes when Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been undergoing trials in Brazil. Meanwhile, Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is already being used in the United States and Britain. 

  • Brazil President Bolsonaro Congratulates Joe Biden, Says ‘ready To Work With You’

    Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on December 15 congratulated the United States President-elect Joe Biden for his victory. This development comes after the US electoral college votes formalized Biden’s victory. Taking to his official Twitter handle, the Brazilian President said that he will be ready to work with a new government and the US-Brazil alliance. 

    During the tenure of Donald Trump, President Bolsonaro announced that the country’s relations with the United States are currently at their best. The US and Brazil also signed three trade facilitation agreements during a virtual summit. Speaking at the summit organised by US Chamber of Commerce, Bolsonaro said that the Brazil-US relations have elevated to “its best moment ever”. Trump had repeatedly expressed his wish to boost ties with Brazil, a country led by far-right leader, to provide a counterweight to Beijing. 

  • Brazil’s Amazon Deforestation Hits 12-year High Under President Bolsonaro

    Deforestation in the Amazon forest has hit its highest level since the year 2008. According to the reports by BBC, a total of 11,088 sq km of the forest area have been destroyed from August 2019 to July 2020. This accounts to a 9.5 per cent increase since last year. Amazon rainforest is reported to have lost about 17 per cent of its original area and, at the current pace, is expected to reach a tipping point in the next 15 to 30 years.

    The scientists blame President Jair Bolsonaro as they say that the rate of deforestation has accelerated since he took to office in the year 2008. Earlier, Brazil had set a goal of slowing the pace of deforestation to 3,900 sq km annually by the year 2020. However, this does not seem to come true now by any chance. 

    Earlier in August, Brazil’s Environment Ministry announced that the country’s government has released the funds required for fighting deforestation in the Amazon. It also added that the enforcement and implementation operations will continue as normal. Also, the ministry made an announcement of suspending all operations to combat deforestation as funding for those operations had been blocked.

    As per reports, Brazil’s Vice President Hamilton Mourão quickly refuted the ministry’s statement of halting operations to combat deforestation, reportedly saying that’s not going to happen, and adding that the efforts would continue. Mourão, who was put in charge of the country’s Amazon response by Bolsonaro, also denied claims of the funds being blocked. He also reportedly accused Brazilian Environment Minister Ricardo Salles of acting too soon on the matter.

  • Brazilian President Bolsonaro said – will not get the vaccine installed

    Another vaccine is being awaited in the world which is suffering from the corona virus. On the other hand, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has expressed distrust of the vaccine. According to the news agency Reuters, Bolsonaro has said on Thursday that he will not take the vaccine. Not only this, he has also questioned the vaccine program released to prevent infection. The special thing is that Brazil is the second country in terms of deaths due to Corona virus.

    Brazilian President Jar Bolsonaro, who suffered from Kovid-19 disease in July, says, ‘I am telling you, I am not going to take this. This is my right. Bolsonaro has also said many other strange things about the Corona epidemic. He also questioned the utility of the mask. Whereas, international health agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) have been consistently advocating for the wearing of masks.

    On the one hand, the world is busy preparing for the vaccine trial to be successful and available. At the same time, Bolsonaro has denied the need for vaccine in Brazil. The Brazilian President has been repeatedly saying that once the vaccine is available on a large scale, the people of Brazil do not need to apply the vaccine. Not only this, in October, he also made fun of the vaccine process through Twitter. He then said that the vaccine is needed only for his dog.