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President Jair Bolsonaro published a Provisional Measure, this Thursday (5/14), which exempts public agents punishment for action or omission in acts related to COVID-19 pandemic. According to the text, they can only be held responsible in the civil and administrative spheres “if they act or omit with intent or serious error.” The article cites cases of coping with the disease and fighting against the economic effects.
The MP also declares that “the responsibility of the technical opinion will not be automatically extended” and that the public agent can only be found guilty if there are sufficient elements to point out the deception or serious error and in case of collusion between public agents. “The causality between the conduct and the harmful result does not imply responsibility,” says an extract from the law.
In addition to a serious error, the text signed by Bolsonaro, the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedesand the Minister of Comptroller General of the Union (UGE), Wagner de Campos Rosário, says that it can only be considered cases of “serious fault, action or omission with a high degree of negligence, recklessness or negligence”.
Even in these cases, the MP says that the responsibility will also be taken into account in the obstacles and difficulties of the real agent; the complexity of the matter and the powers exercised by the public agent; the circumstance of incomplete information in an urgent or emergency situation; the practical circumstances that have imposed, limited or conditioned the action or inaction of the public agent; and the context of uncertainty about the most appropriate measures to face the covid-19 pandemic and its consequences, including economic ones.
Bolsonaro criticizes the measures adopted in the pandemic
The MP reaches two more points related to the behavior of the President of the Republic during the new coronavirus pandemic. From the beginning, Bolsonaro has complained about the isolation measures taken by governors and mayors across the country. The main point he cites is the economic consequences.
The president also does not practice the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Federal District Government (GDF) and the Ministry of Health to flatten the pollution curve and avoid a collapse in the health system.
On several occasions, the executive president caused the overcrowding, used the mask incorrectly, supported demonstrations when social isolation was to be maintained, and during a walk in Brasilia, he even put his hand to his nose and shook hands with supporters, including an old woman.
One of the actions in which Bolsonaro was also the subject of much criticism was the change of the Minister of Health. The former holder of the portfolio, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, defended social isolation, going against what the chief executive says.
In the week he was fired, Mandetta went on to say that “the Brazilian does not know if he listens to the president or the minister.” Another point of conflict between the two is the use of chloroquine to treat the disease. Bolsonaro is an advocate for the use of the drug, even without proven efficacy.
The MP will take effect from this Thursday (5/14) and has a period of 120 days to be approved by Congress and become law.
