{"id":6380,"date":"2020-04-01T17:23:27","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T17:23:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cejil.z.actotal.net\/2020\/04\/01\/to-ensure-the-health-and-safety-of-brazilians-bolsonaro-must-cease-deadly-misinformation-and-inaction-on-covid-19-and-protect-the-right-to-free-press\/"},"modified":"2021-02-15T12:36:22","modified_gmt":"2021-02-15T12:36:22","slug":"to-ensure-the-health-and-safety-of-brazilians-bolsonaro-must-cease-deadly-misinformation-and-inaction-on-covid-19-and-protect-the-right-to-free-press","status":"publish","type":"comunicado-de-prensa","link":"https:\/\/cejil.org\/en\/press-releases\/to-ensure-the-health-and-safety-of-brazilians-bolsonaro-must-cease-deadly-misinformation-and-inaction-on-covid-19-and-protect-the-right-to-free-press\/","title":{"rendered":"To Ensure the Health and Safety of Brazilians, Bolsonaro Must Cease Deadly Misinformation and Inaction on COVID-19 and Protect the Right to Free Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington, D.C. April 1, 2020.- <\/strong>On Monday, March 30, Brazilian health officials reported<\/a> that 159 people have died in the country as a result of COVID-19, while more than 4,579 have been infected. In Latin America, Brazil is currently the country with the most confirmed cases and deaths associated with the disease. Yet, in the midst of rising concern among Brazilians for their own health and safety, President Jair Bolsonaro has not only dismissed the pandemic as a \u2018fantasy,\u2019 but has also taken advantage of the crisis to put in place concerning restrictions on journalists that violate the principles of a free press.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For weeks, Bolsonaro has risked the lives of his citizens by willfully spreading misinformation on the pandemic, refusing to take public health measures to mitigate the spread of the disease, and potentially blocking access to truthful and timely information that could be critical to health and well-being. Notably, Bolsonaro has dangerously accused the media of weaponizing the pandemic as a tool for bringing down his government. He used this as a pretext to justify a presidential Executive Order (Medida Provis\u00f3ria<\/em>) that muzzled journalists by restricting their access to public records that are vital in the accurate reporting of the public health emergency. The Brazilian Supreme Court acted in a timely manner and annulled this new norm.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ensuring the delivery of truthful information and freedom of the press is critical, even more so in the middle of a public health emergency. Of immediate concern, it\u2019s clear that Bolsonaro\u2019s false rhetoric and misinformation is leading to inaction in combating the virus. He has accused governors of fomenting a \u2018climate of terror\u2019 in implementing critical public health measures. He has urged businesses to remain open in a widely shared publicity campaign despite the best available public health recommendations. The Supreme Federal Court has since then ruled against the publicity campaign as it was not based on scientific evidence. He has willfully ignored isolation recommendations, often appearing in public and even shook hands with people despite reports of COVID-19 cases among his closest staff. His refusal to act based on public health recommendations, coupled with misinformation, has facilitated the spread of a disease that could be contained with appropriate public health measures. As the virus continues to spread in the country, it will disproportionately impact vulnerable populations throughout Brazil\u2014the poor living in favelas, rural areas, and indigenous and quilombola communities.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The international community, recognizing that access to accurate information is critical to the health of Brazilians, must urge President Bolsonaro to curb his rhetoric, false information, and actions aimed at closing democratic spaces in Brazil. The Bolsonaro administration should cease all attacks against the press and restrictions to information. More than ever, the right of information is essential in saving lives and President Bolsonaro should respect, rather than throttle, the media sector\u2019s independence. Bolsonaro\u2019s government must follow the World Health Organization\u2019s (WHO) recommendations in addressing this crisis, as well as implement an emergency water and basic sanitation plan in the favelas and special measures to prevent contagion in indigenous populations to prevent major outbreaks that could cost lives.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Signed by:<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. Network for Democracy in Brazil<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

UNIAFRO<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

UNEAFRO Brasil<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Latin America Working Group (LAWG)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Inter-Ecclesial Commission on Justice and Peace (ICJP), Colombia<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Crushing Colonialism<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Chicago Latino America Solidarity Committee<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Chicago Ayotzinapa Solidarity Committee<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Black Communities Process (PCN), Colombia<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

American Federation of Teachers (AFT)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Alliance of Baptists<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Association of Emcali Trade Unionists (ASOSIEMCALI), Colombia<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Association for Internally Displaced Afro-Colombians (AFRODES), Colombia<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Willie L. Baker Jr<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Raimundo C. Barreto, Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ofunshi Oba Koso, Yoruba Cuba Association, Babalawo\/Shaman<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Mar\u00eda del Pilar Melgarejo<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

James Counts Early, Institute for Policy Studies Board Member<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Eunice Mina Escobar<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Elizabeth Leeds, Senior Fellow, WOLA<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Darryl Chappell, WOLA Board<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ana Vicky Castillo, CEO, Afrolatinos Historical Society<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ana Lucia Araujo, Howard University <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Amilcar Priestley, Afrolatin@ Project<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":6381,"template":"","categories":[135,143,204],"class_list":["post-6380","comunicado-de-prensa","type-comunicado-de-prensa","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2020-en","category-brazil","category-state-violence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cejil.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comunicado-de-prensa\/6380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cejil.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comunicado-de-prensa"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cejil.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/comunicado-de-prensa"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cejil.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cejil.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cejil.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}