The unrestrained expansion of COVID-19 in Brazil -- a country that has nearly 90,000 confirmed cases and more than 6,000 deaths -- and the indifference of its authorities to this situation is scaring several neighboring countries.
It is common knowledge that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro decided to ignore the recommendations of international health organizations, and even those of his closest advisors, particularly related to the isolation, as a way to stop the chain of infections.
He even fired his Minister of Health Luiz Henrique Mandetta due serious disagreements on how to deal with the health crisis. In fact, the former army captain has chosen not to tackle the disease at all, and he just makes derogatory remarks every time someone questions this decision.
The ultimate proof of Bolsonaro’s insensitivity towards his fellow citizens was his response, when inquired about the high number of deceased people, he expressed: "I am messiah, but I’m not a miracle worker. Life goes on.”
This attitude is the main reason why COVID-19 is expanding to the extent that the new Minister of Health, Nelson Teich, warned that the death toll may reach one thousand per day. Therefore, the concern of surrounding nations and even its main ally, the United States, grows every day. Bolsonaro did not close the borders and even maintains some air operations to the United States.
The Republican Governor for Florida, Ron DeSantis, asked federal authorities to take actions in order to stop the flow of travelers arriving in that state, where there is a large Brazilian community.
In Uruguay, right-wing president Luis Lacalle Pou, akin to the Brazilian head of State in several aspects, declared that the spread of the virus in that neighboring country is a signal of alarm, since many people constantly cross the borders, and a considerable number have tested positive for the virus, implying a potential threat.
Argentinean President Alberto Fernandez expressed his concern about health security in Misiones and Corrientes, two Argentinean provinces that are a window to some transports coming from Sao Paulo, where the pandemic rates are very high.
The Colombian epidemiologist at the National University in Bogota, Julián Fernández Niño, said that Brazil possesses a great technological development however, the government maintains an anti-scientific behavior on how to deal with tangible risks.
In an interconnected world, no nation should turn its back on others. And one’s mistakes will affect the rest of neighboring countries as well, a fundamental lesson that Bolsonaro refuses to acknowledge.
