SAO PAULO (AP) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday chose his fourth health minister since suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic, amid the country’s worst disease crisis and after a series of errors reported by public health experts.
Marcelo Queiroga, the president of the Brazilian Society of Cardiology, will replace Eduardo Pazuello, an active-duty army general with logistics experience who landed the post last May despite having no previous medical experience.
Earlier Monday, Pazuello acknowledged at a press conference that Bolsonaro was aiming to replace him. The first candidate for the job, cardiologist Ludhmila Hajjar, rejected her.
Pazuello’s departure means initiating Brazil’s fourth health minister during the pandemic, although he has chaired the ministry for the longest period of the three to date. The revolving door points to the challenges of the government of the largest nation in Latin America to implement effective measures to control the spread of the virus, or even agree on what measures are needed.
Pazuello’s two predecessors left the position amid disagreements with Bolsonaro, who criticized widespread social distancing and supported the use of an untested antimalarial drug to treat the disease. He continues to hold these positions, despite warnings from health experts and studies showing that the drug has no effect on COVID-19.
Pazuello was more compliant. Immediately after taking up the job, his ministry supported the use and distribution of the malaria pill. On several occasions, he said his boss told him what to do and he obeyed.
“The conversation (with Queiroga) was excellent. I had known him for a few years. He has everything he needs to do a good job, continuing what Pazuello has done to date, “Bolsonaro told fans at the entrance to the presidential residence in Brasilia, adding that there will be a transition period of up to two weeks with the incoming minister.
“Pazuello’s work was well done in the management part. We are now in a more aggressive phase in the fight against the virus, “the Brazilian president said.
Brazil has recorded nearly 280,000 deaths from the virus, almost all of them monitored. The toll has gotten worse lately, with an average of more than 1,800 deaths every day in the nation. Health care systems in major cities are on the verge of collapse, and lawmakers allied with Bolsonaro have proposed appropriate replacements for Pazuello, threatening to increase pressure for an investigation into his management of the crisis.
The country’s top court is also investigating Pazuello for alleged negligence that contributed to the collapse of the health care system in the state of Amazonas earlier this year. This investigation will now be sent to a lower court judge.
Weeks later, in a particularly embarrassing episode, his ministry accidentally sent a shipment of vaccines destined for the state of Amazonas to the neighboring state of Amapa and vice versa, after confusing the abbreviations of each state.
Finally, Pazuello has faced intense criticism for the slow deployment of vaccines in Brazil. According to Our World in Data, an online research site that compares official government statistics, only 5.4% of Brazilians have been vaccinated. Almost all were taken from the Chinese biopharmaceutical firm Sinovac, which Bolsonaro questioned several times.
Pazuello’s health ministry also delayed its decision to buy the vaccine from the Sao Paulo state government until there was no other option left to start vaccination in January.
The only vaccine agreement that Pazuello had signed at the time, for 100 million doses of the AstraZeneca puncture, has so far brought few shots into the arms of Brazilians. Since then, his ministry has struggled to consolidate agreements with other suppliers and has recently concluded agreements to acquire the features of Pfizer and Sputnik V.
Pazuello said at the press conference that he would not resign and insisted that there will be continuity with whoever takes office.
Cardiologist Hajjar had already revealed that Bolsonaro interviewed her to replace Pazuello. He told Globo News that science has already ruled out the treatments that Bolsonaro and his legions of supporters continue to defend, such as drugs to fight malaria and parasites, and that the country should take more restrictive measures on the activity. He said he turned down the charge.
“He has to choose someone he trusts, who is aligned with him, his ideas, his vision and the desire of the government. And I’m definitely not that person, “he said.
Hajjar predicts between 500,000 and 600,000 total deaths, not to mention long-term consequences, unless Brazil changes course.
Queiroga has already called Bolsonaro “a great Brazilian.” His social media channels have not criticized the president’s management of the pandemic and have pushed for a rapid introduction of vaccines.
__
AP journalist David Biller contributed to this report from Rio de Janeiro.