Brazil CEOs and economists blast Bolsonaro’s COVID response

President Bolsonaro says he is still not convinced by COVID lockdowns as cases soar in Latin America’s largest country.

Hundreds of Brazilian business leaders and economists blasted President Jair Bolsonaro’s handling of the coronavirus crisis on Monday and called for a new policy approach as the country enters a critical phase of its COVID-19 outbreak. The letter, published in newspapers and signed by former central bank chiefs and some of Brazil’s richest bankers, underscored a growing revolt by business leaders against the far-right president whom many had backed for his 2018 election. Without naming Bolsonaro, they rebuked “the country’s highest political leadership” for ignoring science, encouraging crowds, hyping unproven treatments and “flirting with the anti-vaccine movement“.