Brazil's President Bolsonaro Says Coronavirus Crisis Is 'A Media Trick, Hysteria, Over A Little Flu'

[Eugene]

1. Brazilians side with governors over Bolsonaro on virus response: poll

Source: Reuters

WORLD NEWS MARCH 23, 2020 / 9:40 AM / UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO

Brazilians side with governors over Bolsonaro on virus response: poll

RIO DE JANEIRO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro appeared to be losing the battle of public opinion in his clash with state governors taking a much tougher line on fighting the coronavirus pandemic than the right-wing populist, a poll showed on Monday.

Bolsonaro stepped up his attacks on the governors in a Sunday night television interview, calling them “job killers” for ordering stores closed in an effort to slow the outbreak.

“This is a crisis much worse than what the coronavirus has caused in Brazil,” the president told TV Record.

Brazilians, however, are giving the governors higher marks, according to a Datalfolha poll that found 54% of those polled rated governors’ response to the pandemic as “great” or “good” while only 34% thought the same of the president.

Health Minister Luis Henrique Mandetta, who has contradicted Bolsonaro on the need to restrict public meetings, was also better rated than the president, with 55% seeing his work as “great” or “good.”

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-brazil/brazilians-side-with-governors-over-bolsonaro-on-virus-response-poll-idUSKBN21A27O