Bolsonaro Threatens To Lift Subnational COVID-19 Restrictions

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday threatened to issue a decree to remove mobility restrictions imposed by subnational governments to control the COVID-19 pandemic.

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"No one can be happy if there is no freedom,", he said, recalling that his supporters took to the streets over the weekend to protest against the epidemiological measures

"In the streets, people are starting to ask the government to the decree. And if I decree it, it will be complied with and it cannot be suspended by any court," he stressed, alluding to the Supreme Court that ratified that the Brazilian constitution allows governors and mayors to restrict activities in cases of public necessity.

"Where did it come from that empowers governors and mayors to take us to misery, to steal millions of jobs, to prevent people from working, to prohibit going to church," the far-right President said.

"There are mayors who put people in jail because they walk the streets... Brazil cannot be condemned to failure because someone granted big powers to governors and mayors," Bolsonaro added.

In this context, the former Captain once again sowed doubts about the origin of the virus trying to blame China for what happened and for benefiting from the pandemic.

"It is a new virus. We don't know whether it was born in a laboratory or it was caused by a man who ate an animal. We know there are bacteriological wars," Bolsonaro said and asked, "which is the country whose gross domestic product grew the most during the pandemic?"