Brazilians don't want Bolsonaro to resign amid coronavirus outbreak


Reuters | Brasilia | Updated: 05-04-2020 21:54 IST | Created: 05-04-2020 21:32 IST
Brazilians don't want Bolsonaro to resign amid coronavirus outbreak
  • Country:
  • Brazil

Most Brazilians are against President Jair Bolsonaro's potential resignation despite mounting criticism toward his handling of the coronavirus outbreak, according to a poll published by local newspaper Folha de S.Paulo on Sunday. The survey conducted by Datafolha pollster between April 1-3 showed that 59% of the 1,511 respondents would oppose Bolsonaro's resignation, while 37% would approve such move and 4% could not give an opinion. The margin of error was three percentage points, the newspaper said.

On Friday, the same pollster said Bolsonaro's coronavirus performance has been "bad" or "awful" for 39% of respondents surveyed, up from 33% last month. Those who consider his response to the health crisis "good" or "great" slipped to 33% from 35%. Brazil's death toll rose to 431 from 359, while the number of confirmed cases jumped to 10,278 from 9,056, according to Health Ministry figures released on Saturday afternoon.

Bolsonaro has downplayed multiple times COVID-19 respiratory disease as a "little flu", stirring up conflicts with governors and even his own health minister for advocating social-distancing measures which he sees as economically disastrous. His insistence in fighting unemployment amid an unprecedented public health crisis is wearing him out politically, driving his approval rating to its lowest level since he took office last year in a conservative swing by Brazilian voters.

Playing on his evangelical supporters who have played a key role in his election, Bolsonaro called for a national day of fasting and prayer on Sunday to "free Brazil from this evil" epidemic. OUTBREAK AND AGRIBUSINESS

Even with lockdown measures paralyzing most of Latin America's largest economy, Brazilian agribusiness strives to avoid supply disruptions and emerge from the crisis even stronger. "We must ensure our crop this year continues plentiful so we can supply our own country and jump at opportunities that may arise," Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias told agribusiness representatives on Sunday.

She noted some countries in the Northern Hemisphere will have a shorter planting window this year due to coronavirus. "I have the feeling that we can become a great food supplier to the rest of the world," Cristina said. The minister recognized the hardships faced by some players, such as sugar-ethanol companies amid a tumble in domestic demand, but reassured the government is working to help the sector.

"Harvest has started and sugarcane cannot sit on the field for long, so we must act urgently," Cristina said, adding that a 'war-budget' amendment should ease access to credit for many sectors. The main text of the bill passed late on Friday in the lower house, but still needs Senate's approval. Besides separating coronavirus-related spending from the government's main budget, the amendment also grants the central bank powers purchases of public or private financial assets.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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