RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Minister of Health Luiz Henrique Mandetta told people close to him that he made a mistake when giving an interview to ‘Fantástico’ last Sunday, April 12th, with a number of implied criticisms of President Jair Bolsonaro, and acknowledged that his position is once again under threat.
After escaping last week from a resignation that many thought was certain, the Minister was alerted that his dismissal from the Health Ministry was again a near-term possibility.
According to contacts at the Planalto Palace, Bolsonaro on Monday considered that, unlike last week, when the military stepped in to ensure the retention of Mandetta in the team, there was now less activity in defending the Minister.
In addition to the noticeable loss of support among the military, who considered the tone of the interview an act of insubordination, Bolsonaro noted that even some leaders of Congress criticized the tone used in the Minister’s interview.
The absence of strong demonstrations on social media in defense of the Minister of Health was also read by the President as an opening to carry out his dismissal.
However, aides claim that it is not yet possible to ascertain whether the President can afford to dismiss Mandetta from the Esplanade. Some advisors urged him to endure the pandemic with the Minister, to avoid the adverse effects of a dismissal should the Brazilian health system collapse.
In an interview with TV Globo on Sunday, Mandetta said the population does not know whether to follow the recommendations of the Ministry of Health (favorable to social isolation) or of Bolsonaro (critical of measures such as closing businesses, for instance).
The Minister also criticized those violating the distancing rules by going to the bakery, a criticism of Bolsonaro – the President last week visited an establishment of this type in Brasília and ate at the counter.
It was precisely this persistence in clashing with Bolsonaro that cost Mandetta the support of the military wing at the Planalto Palace.
The assessment was that the Minister deprecated the effort of the military to keep him in office and is concerned only with his public image in an attempt to run for governor of Mato Grosso do Sul in 2022. Mandetta has continually given signs of clashing with the President since the threat of his dismissal last week, the latest of which was the interview.
The military’s dissatisfaction was made clear on Tuesday, April 14th, in a statement by the Vice-President, General Hamilton Mourão. In an interview with the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, Mourão said that the Minister of Health had made a serious mistake in his speech to TV Globo.
“He crossed the line, he did not need to have said certain things,” said the vice president. Mourão, however, considered that the President should not dismiss the Minister at this time.
On Monday, Mandetta spoke with allies. He reasoned that he had decided to give the interview because he was upset with Bolsonaro’s behavior on Saturday, April 11th, during a visit to the building site of a field hospital in Águas Lindas de Goiás.
At the time, the President once again ignored guidelines from the health authorities and encouraged crowds, while the head of the Health Ministry watched the event from afar.
The people who talked to the Minister on Monday said he reiterated that he will not resign, but acknowledged that he is in a more fragile situation than last week.
As of Tuesday, April 14th, the Minister will be sidelined from meetings, will not take part in government decisions and more room will be given to those who publicly oppose him.
Members of the President’s ideological core urge him to make a point of always quoting the opinions of Federal Deputy Osmar Terra and Doctor Nise Yamaguchi in interviews with the press and in posts on social media.
The two are cited as replacements for Mandetta and advocate the widespread use of hydroxychloroquine for cases of early stage coronavirus, in addition to the adoption of what they call vertical quarantine, which isolates only high-risk groups.
The negative repercussions of the interview also caused discomfort within the Ministry of Health. On Monday, Mandetta avoided public appearances and did not attend the interview that has been held daily on the Planalto to provide updates on the coronavirus scenario in the country. According to the Minister’s allies, he laid low so as not to increase friction.
Mandetta’s absence, when his participation was expected, was not justified and caused estrangement even among other members of the Ministerial team, namely the Minister of Justice Sérgio Moro, who attended the press conference.
The Ministry of Health’s officials said, with little detail, that the Minister was in a meeting and would try to be on time. Mandetta’s allies acknowledged that his stance was misguided and urged him to avoid further confrontations.
The relationship between Bolsonaro and Mandetta was never close; it has always been arm’s length. The Minister was indicated for his postion by the governor of Goiás, Ronaldo Caiado, then an ally of the President, but who is today estranged from him due to disagreements over his conduct of the fight against the coronavirus.
Due to lack of affinity with Mandetta, Bolsonaro even considered his replacement in September last year, but gave up when he saw that the Minister enjoyed broad support in the health sector.
At the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the President complained to the Minister that he should stand up for the government and reprimanded him for taking part in an interview with São Paulo Governor João Doria, Bolsonaro’s political opponent.
Mandetta changed his rhetoric and began to preach the importance of economic activity continuing. He did not, however, buckle to the President’s pressure against the social isolation measure, which triggered the clash between the two.
The crisis with Mandetta rattled Bolsonaro. According to presidential advisors, for the first time since taking office, the President feared losing political capital when he saw that part of the Bolsonarist base on social media was backing the Minister.
According to one of the President’s allies, worried about her husband, First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro even recommended that the President slow down the political agenda to avoid a stressful situation.
Mandetta confronts the President
Background:
On April 6th, one day after threatening to “use the stroke of his pen” against Ministers who had “become stars”, Bolsonaro was asked by Mandetta why he had not dismissed him. The question came up at a Ministerial meeting; the President did not answer, according to reports. Military ministers, partly responsible for deterring Bolsonaro from the idea of exonerating the Health Minister, tried to circumvent the situation. Mandetta also asked why he had been appointed, since the President would not listen to him.
Messages in speech:
After a full day of uncertainty, on that same Monday, April 6th, Mandetta announced that he would remain in office and sent messages to the President. He insistently advocated respect for science and quoted Plato’s Fable of the Cave, an allegory on the conflict between ignorance and knowledge. He also supported the measures of governors who had become antagonistic to the President during the health crisis.
Criticism of the President in Goiás
On Saturday, April 11th, after Bolsonaro joined a crowd of supporters in Águas Lindas de Goiás, Mandetta, who was also in town and watched the crowd from a distance, criticized the President.
“I can only advise, I cannot live people’ s lives. People who act like this today will be the same people regretting it”.
Interview on ‘Fantástico’
In an interview on Sunday, April 12th, with ‘Fantástico’ on TV Globo, Mandetta said that Brazilians “don’t know if they should listen to the Minister of Health, if they should listen to the President, who they should listen to”. He argued that the federal government should have a “single discourse” about the pandemic in order to guide the population.
Source: Folhapress