Bolsonaro Drops in on Police Operation, Stays Silent on Covid-19 Disclosure Rules

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro landed with two FAB (Brazilian Air Force) helicopters on Saturday morning, June 6th, on BR-020 in Planaltina, 52 km from the center of Brasília, to follow a PRF (Federal Highway Police) operation for over an hour.

Without a mask and escorted by Pastor Silas Malafaia and some of his Ministers, when he approached a crowd to take pictures, he was asked by journalists about the over 35,000 coronavirus deaths and the changes in the disclosure of national data on Covid-19 .

Despite having looked at the reporters when the questions were asked, he did not answer.

After two consecutive record-breaking days, Brazil recorded 1,005 new coronavirus deaths on Friday, June 5th, according to data from the Ministry of Health. The total number of deaths stands at 35,026.

On Friday, the disclosure of data was deferred for the third straight day. Before that, it used to be released at 7 PM, but now only at 10 PM. Hours earlier, Bolsonaro argued for the delay in releasing the Ministry of Health’s reports and said that, with the change in the schedule, “there would be no more news on Jornal Nacional (evening news)”. He also referred to Rede Globo, which broadcasts the Jornal Nacional, as the “funeral TV”.

Globo released a note on Bolsonaro’s statements, read in the Jornal Nacional edition. After the release of the data by the Ministry, after the end of Jornal Nacional, Globo’s ‘Plantão’, with host William Bonner, went on air during the 9 PM soap opera. The Ministry of Health’s website displaying the data on the disease was offline at least until this story was published.

On Twitter, the President said that the Ministry of Health “adjusted the disclosure of data”. According to the President, to avoid underreporting and inconsistencies, the Ministry chose to disclose at 10 PM. “Disclosing between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM would still risk underreporting. The flows are being standardized and adapted for the best accuracy,” justified Bolsonaro on social media.

After just over an hour at the operation, Bolsonaro returned to the helicopter bound for Forte Santa Bárbara in the town of Formosa, where he would “take a few shots,” he said the day before.

Bolsonaro landed on the side of the highway at 9:20 AM. A large police raid was set up on-site, but during the president’s stay, until 10:35 AM, the highway police did not stop any vehicles for searches.

On the roadside towards Brasília, Bolsonaro took pictures with federal highway police and filmed at the officers’ request. The press was kept a few meters away.

Many drivers honked as they passed the President. People in a vehicle criticized the President, calling him genocidal and a fascist.

With Bolsonaro’s presence, some cars stopped at the shoulder after the PRF roadblock. Drivers and passengers crowded and the President walked up to them. He picked up a child in his arms, hugged him, and took selfies with supporters. Some, like Bolsonaro, were not wearing a mask.

The preceding Saturday, May 30th, Bolsonaro had already followed a PRF operation in Goiás. Similarly to this weekend, the commitment does not figure in the President’s official agenda.

In late May, Bolsonaro changed the PRF command. Adriano Marcos Furtado left and Eduardo Aggio de Sá took over. At a cabinet meeting on April 22nd, Bolsonaro  had complained about the release of an official PRF note lamenting the death by coronavirus of a member of the corporation.

The day before, the PRF had released an expression of sympathy for the death of Marcos Roberto Tokumori, 53, which took place that morning. He was working in Santa Catarina.

The official note reported that death had occurred due to Covid-19. “The disease, Covid-19, does not choose gender, age, race or profession,” said the note, signed by the PRF Director-General, Adriano Furtado. “Marcos fought bravely against it,” he stressed.

According to reports, Bolsonaro criticized the tone of the note at the April 22nd meeting, claiming it could scare people and that it failed to consider any potential comorbidities of Tokumori.