Bolsonaro Announces Partial Closure of Brazil’s Border With Venezuela

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro announced on Tuesday the partial closure of the border between Brazil and Venezuela in Roraima.

When granting a press interview at the entrance to the Alvorada Palace, the official residence of the Presidency, Bolsonaro said the measure will be published in the Federal Gazette this Wednesday, March 18th, and it will stipulate that the flow of goods will remain unimpeded.

“I do not intend to criticize any governor, some are taking positive measures, others, in my opinion, are overreacting. The closure of the Venezuelan border, which is the most sensitive, will be published in tomorrow’s Federal Gazette. Now, some think that the term ‘border closed’ is the magical word. If we were able to close the border as many believe, we would not have weapons or drugs entering Brazil. We have 17,000 kilometers of border,” the President said.

“It’s not a total closure. The flow of goods will continue to happen. Because it involves Roraima. If we shut down trade with Venezuela, Roraima’s economy will collapse. The same thing is true for Venezuela, which also has some of this freight traffic with us. There is no way to take radical measures. It would not work,” added Bolsonaro.

During the interview, the president reiterated what he has said, that one cannot become “hysterical” over the new Coronavirus pandemic.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the virus has spread to several continents. There are 290 confirmed and 8,819 suspected cases in Brazil, reported the Ministry of Health.

“There can be no hysteria, that’s what I’ve always preached. If you become hysterical, everybody goes crazy. The consequences will be the worst possible. In some countries there’s already looting going on, it could happen in Brazil. There may be political exploitation of this, but we don’t want to think about it, we must remain calm. It will pass. It’s like a pregnancy, one day the child will be born. The virus was going to get here one day or another and it did”, declared Bolsonaro.

Press Interviews

Speaking to the press at the Alvorada Palace, Bolsonaro said that on Wednesday he will hold a collective press conference with all Ministers at the Planalto Palace to explain the measures taken by the government to contain the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

According to the President, in the evening there will be another press conference, with the heads of the three governmental branches, to show that they are “united”.

“My message is for no one to panic. We’re going to have to go through this wave. If panic strikes the population, everything gets worse. We are concerned about the humanitarian issue, about lives, but also about the economic issue,” the President said.