Not Only Replacing Ministers, Brazil Reshuffles Cabinet Because Of COVID-19

Illustration of COVID-19 in Brazil. (Wikimedia Commons / Alice Mafra)

JAKARTA - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has to overhaul his government cabinet, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are six positions in his cabinet that changed this time.

Previously, Brazil made three changes to the Minister of Health, also because of COVID-19. Within a year, Brazil has four Health Ministers. Most recently, this position was held by Marcelo Queiroga.

According to CNN, the position in President Bolsonaro's changing cabinet includes the resigned Minister of Defense Fernando Azevedo e Silva, who will be replaced by Chief of Staff of the Brazilian Presidential Army General Walter Souza Braga Netto.

The Minister of Justice, formerly Andre Mendonca, was replaced by top Brazilian Police official Anderson Gustavo Torres. Meanwhile, Andre Mendonca will serve as Attorney General, replacing Andre Levi.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. (Wikimedia Commons / Beto Oliveira _ Câmara dos Deputados)

It is known that Andre Levi refused to sign Bolsonaro's lawsuit to revoke the lockdown order for the three state governors, and chose to resign.

Next, Minister of State Secretary-General Luiz Eduardo Ramos will serve as the Presidential Chief of Staff. His position was replaced by Flavia Arruda.

There was also Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo who also resigned, being replaced by diplomat Carlos Alberto Franca. He was the target of criticism for failing to secure supplies of the COVID-19 vaccine from Beijing and Washington.

Brazil is facing a tough test of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Friday and Saturday last week, Brazil recorded daily deaths of more than 3.000 cases. Meanwhile, on Thursday, there were 100.000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, the highest daily figure since the pandemic.

So far, a total of 312.206 people have died and 12.534.688 cases of infection due to COVID-19 in Brazil.

Criticism of Bolsonaro's handling of the pandemic has escalated in recent weeks as a new mutation of the P.1 coronavirus spread across the country, making even younger people very sick.

President Jair Bolsonaro is known to have refused to support the lockdown, citing the economic health and privacy of citizens. To date, most meeting restrictions have been imposed by individual state governments, with curfews in place, as in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Minas Gerais

"Bolsonaro is under immense pressure and is reacting to regain the political narrative. The changes at the Ministry of Defense are completely unexpected and cause confusion", Creomar de Souza, founder of Dharma Political Risk and Strategy in Brazil, told Reuters.