Pressure against social isolation is an “almost criminal” act, says Rodrigo Maia | Politics

This Thursday (7), Brazil surpassed the mark of 9 thousand deaths due to the coronavirus, according to data from the Ministry of Health. In total, according to official figures, there are 135,106 confirmed cases of covid-19, a disease caused by the virus. Social isolation, albeit at the expense of economic activity, is the main measure advocated by experts and the World Health Organization to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

President Jair Bolsonaro took a group of businessmen this Thursday to the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to defend before Minister Dias Toffoli, President of the Court, the resumption of the economy due to rising unemployment.

For the mayor, the reduction of social isolation should not be adopted due to the increase in unemployment, but is based on a technical decision. Saving lives “will always come first.”

“What we cannot do is the productive sector many times, of course, I understand the concern, which ends up generating pressure that will generate a greater increase in the number of deaths in Brazil. This is not correct, it is almost criminal ”, declared Rodrigo Maia.

During the interview, Maia was asked what kind of attitude she expects from government officials regarding social isolation measures, be it stricter attitudes or flexibility.

“I prefer the [governante] This makes the decision rationally and does not accept pressure from any sector. So, a decision of flexibility that is not related to the pressure of any sector of the economy, but to the technical-scientific decision, “said Rodrigo Maia.

On Thursday, the President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro, defended the resumption of economic activities. For him, commerce must reopen and people must return to work.

“It gets to the point where you don’t get the economy back. And without savings your life goes to space, ”said Bolsonaro in the late afternoon, when he returned to the official residence of the Palácio da Alvorada.

Rodrigo Maia was asked what he thought of Bolsonaro’s last-minute visit, accompanied by businessmen, to the President of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Dias Toffoli.

For the deputy, the attitude was a “wrong signal” for Brazilian society. The parliamentarian added that, if Bolsonaro were accompanied by the Minister of Health, Nelson Teich, instead of being flanked by businessmen, the visit would be more peaceful.

He declared that if Bolsonaro wanted to visit him in the Chamber, he would be received alone or, at most, accompanied by three or four businessmen, to avoid overcrowding.

The mayor also said he understood that the Ministry of Health should have a “coordinating responsibility” for the process of dealing with the new coronavirus.

Maia said that if she had tested positive for Covid-19, it would reveal the test result. “There would be no problem revealing it, Senate President Davi Alcolumbre revealed at the same time,” he said.

Jair Bolsonaro has refused to disclose the result of his test, despite a court decision.

Freeze wages

On Thursday, President Jair Bolsonaro said he would veto a tranche of the project to help states that open up the possibility of salary adjustments.

When asked about the issue, Maia said that if Bolsonaro vetoes, he expects Congress to maintain the veto. For him, vetoing this point generates a signal to society that there will be no increase in spending, even if it does not have many impacts on the economy.

He also stated that, since the start of the pandemic, he has advocated a percentage reduction in the highest salaries of public officials and that this should be discussed in the post-coronavirus.

At other times during the interview, Maia said parliamentarians know that if necessary they will have to expand emergency aid and job preservation measures that have already been taken.

The mayor also denied having spoken to ministers in the military wing about obtaining requests for removal. And he added that a process of elimination “is not a simple thing.” For him, an application for impediment should not be on the agenda now or in the years to come. “It is better to build bridges,” he said.

He also said that he should not comment on the government conflicts, when asked about the decrease in tone of criticism of Jair Bolsonaro.