Coronavirus: Bolsonaro lightens a law on the wearing of masks in public places

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro at a ceremony at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, September 5, 2019. REUTERS / Adriano Machado

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While Brazil is the second country in the world most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic with nearly 1.5 million confirmed cases, its president Jair Bolsonaro opposed a law imposing the wearing of masks in certain places accessible to the public.

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It is a new expression of the opposition of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to the congress as well as to the recommendations of the World Health Organization. The Brazilian head of state has exercised his right of veto to withdraw several articles of a law on the wearing of mandatory masks in order to fight the global pandemic of Covid-19 .

The law in question had been approved by Congress. Despite the president's opposition, it was still promulgated by the head of state according to the Official Journal on Friday, July 3, but several articles were excluded. The main subject was to regulate the wearing of masks across the country. So far each state has made its own decisions on the matter.

►Read: Coronavirus: more than 100,000 dead in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Brazilian president has not reversed the obligation to cover his face in public transport for example. However, he refused to allow this obligation to be extended to shops as well as places of worship or education.

According to Jair Bolsonaro, these measures are unconstitutional because they could lead to "  home invasions  ". False arguments according to deputies who affirm that this law only concerns places accessible to the public.

Another point subject to Bolsonaro's veto: the obligation for the authorities to provide the most precarious populations with masks, as well as that for the federal government to set up information campaigns on the need to wear the mask. Congress now has a month to decide whether or not to accept the presidential veto.

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  • Brazil
  • Jair Bolsonaro
  • Coronavirus

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