Northeastern Brazil’s predominantly left-wing Governors have issued a strongly worded letter in what they describe as “deep indignation” at the stance of Jair Bolsonaro’s Federal Government in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. In 2018, Fernando Haddad beat Bolsonaro 2/1 in the Northeast, now its Governors are attacking the covid-19 crisis without him.
Letter from the Governors of the Northeast
March 27, 2020
IN FAVOUR OF LIFE.
We, Governors of the Northeast, in a videoconference held on March 27, expressed the following:
1) With good sense and balance, we will continue to be guided by science and the world’s experience, to guide all the measures, evaluated daily, in this war waged against the Coronavirus. We reiterate that scientific parameters indicate preventive and protective actions, of gradual intensity and progressive or regressive stages, always adapting them to the reality of each region of our States;
2) In the absence of effective national coordination, which should be assumed by the Federal Government, in conjunction with the other federal entities, we will seek to advance regional integration and with the other regions, mobilized by the objective of saving lives and mitigating the negative impacts on the economy of the states. We also believe that the National Congress has a decisive role in the current moment of Brazilian life;
3) Willing to strengthen the basis of each of our measures, already built on the foundations presented by the WHO, we will request an official statement from the Federal Council of Medicine, the National Council of State Health Secretaries and the Brazilian Society of Infectology, in addition to monitoring and guidance of the Federal Public Ministry and the Public Prosecution Service of the States;
4) We express our deep indignation at the Federal Government’s stance, which goes against the guidance of entities of recognized respectability, such as the WHO – which indicate social isolation as the best way to contain the progress of the Coronavirus -, and promotes a communication campaign towards on the contrary, even encouraging carriages across the country against quarantine. This type of initiative represents a genuine attack on life;
5) For our part, we demand respect from the Presidency of the Republic, hoping that the aggressions against the governors will cease immediately, assuming a serious institutional position on preventive measures. The failure to standardize national norms and the insistence on provoking conflicts prevent unity in favor of public health. In doing so, the life of the population is exposed, in addition to taking serious risks with regard to political, administrative and legal responsibility;
6) We emphasize that we will always be open to dialogue, in this effort that needs to be collective, with the goal of overcoming the threat posed by this disease, which continues to kill thousands of people. We are absolutely convinced that dialogue, balance and unity will always be the best way to reverse this critical situation. We remain steadfast and vigilant in defense of people’s lives, including in the fight to prevent acts that may pose risks to public health.
Rui Costa
Governor of Bahia
Renan Filho
Governor of Alagoas
Camilo Santana
Governor of Ceará
Flávio Dino
Governor of Maranhão
João Azevedo
Governor of Paraíba
Paulo Câmara
Governor of Pernambuco
Wellington Dias
Governor of Piauí
Fatima Bezerra
Governor of Rio Grande do Norte
Belivaldo Chagas
Governor of Sergipe
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