Judge Orders Bolsonaro to Wear Mask When in Public Outdoors Spaces

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Federal Judge Renato Borelli, of the Federal District’s 9th Civil Court, ordered President Jair Bolsonaro to wear a protective face mask, ‘in all public areas, public roads, collective public transport and commercial, industrial and service establishments in the Federal District’, under penalty of a daily fine of R$2,000 (US$400).

According to the magistrate, the President “has a constitutional obligation to observe the laws in force in the country, as well as to promote the general welfare of the population, which implies adopting the necessary measures to safeguard the health and environmental rights of citizens, preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus.”

“The President of the Republic must adopt all necessary measures to avoid the contagion of COVID-19, either to safeguard his own health or that of other people around him, or to show that he, as the highest leader of the Federal Executive Branch, is respecting all the rules in force in Brazil,” said Borelli in the order.

The judge also forced the federal government to require its employees and staff in general, to wear masks for individual protection, while providing services. For these, Borelli established a fine of R$20,000 in case of non-compliance. In addition, the magistrate determined that the Federal District government should supervise the effective use of masks by the general population, as provided in a decree, ‘under the penalty of a daily fine, to be set by this court, unless it is proven in the records which measures have already been implemented for that purpose’.

The ruling was handed down on Monday, June 22nd, in a civil class action arguing that the federal government has not enforced the mandatory wearing of masks by its more than 70,000 servants while on duty, and that President Jair Bolsonaro failed to adopt its use in public events. Furthermore, the plaintiff argued that the Federal District local government failed to adopt inspection measures in this regard.

“The omissive conduct of the federal and local District governments, and the President’s irresponsible conduct, tend, within a short period of time, to largely undermine the prevention measures adopted, resulting in the Federal District, which records one of the lowest numbers of deaths, to witness an increase in this unfortunate statistic,” noted the initial petition.

In analyzing the case, Borelli considered that Bolsonaro’s behavior, “who has refused to wear a face mask in public events and locations in the Federal District, shows a clear intention to disregard the rules imposed by the Federal District local government, which has done nothing to monitor the use of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)”.

The magistrate quoted the decree published by the Federal District local government, which imposed the wearing of face protection masks on all public areas in the region, but considered that no effective measures are in place to monitor the order. Borelli based this on an interview granted by Governor Ibaneis Rocha, who noted that two months after the decree was issued, only three people have been fined for non-compliance. Among them was ex-Minister of Education Abraham Weintraub, who was fined R$2,000 after turning up unmasked at a rally on Sunday at the Ministries Esplanade.

Regarding President Jair Bolsonaro’s conduct, seen as disrespecting the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health’s own guidelines since the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Borelli stressed that, as the highest authority of the Executive Branch, Bolsonaro must ensure compliance with all the rules in force in the country.

The magistrate mentioned a commitment established by the President in his inauguration ceremony and also an excerpt from STF Justice Celso de Mello’s decision that authorized the opening of an investigation into the alleged attempt of political interference by Bolsonaro in the Federal Police. At the time, the Supreme Court Justice stated that ‘no one, not even the Chief Executive, is above the authority of the Constitution and the laws of the Republic’.

“Even if there is no consensus within the medical/scientific community about the spread of COVID-19 by asymptomatic individuals, it is disrespectful, to say the least, to go out in public without the use of PPE, thereby endangering other people’s health. A simple Google search is enough to have access to countless pictures of the defendant Jair Messias Bolsonaro walking around Brasília and around the Federal District, without wearing an individual protection mask, exposing other people to the spread of illness that has caused national commotion,” said Borelli.

Source: O Estado de S. Paulo