Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro blasted the media’s response to the coronavirus pandemic during his address to United Nations General Assembly.
Bolsonaro was the first leader to address the 75th gathering of the assembly on Tuesday and spoke about how the pandemic, which he called the “center of attention,” has affected not only the health and physical well-being of Brazilians but also their livelihoods and the economy.
“In my country, I warned we had two problems to solve, the virus and joblessness and that both problems had to be addressed simultaneously and with the same sense of responsibility,” Bolsonaro said.
Bolsonaro, known for his antagonistic relationship with the press, also used the pulpit to attack the Brazilian media in his prerecorded speech. He blamed the press for “spreading panic among the population.”
“With the mottos, ‘stay at home,’ and ‘we’ll take care of the economy later on,’ they almost brought about social chaos to the country,” Bolsonaro said. “But our administration in a bold step put in place several economic measures that prevented a greater evil.”
He highlighted the work that the Brazilian government has done to combat COVID-19 and fund vaccine work.
Bolsonaro is the most prominent world leader, aside from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, to have tested positive for the contagion. He first tested positive for the respiratory disease on July 7, and after several subsequent positive tests, was deemed rid of the virus on July 25.
The Brazilian president spent weeks recovering from the virus and lauded the use of the controversial anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, which he said he used to treat the illness. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cautioned against its use to treat the coronavirus.
As of Tuesday, Brazil had the third-most confirmed cases of the virus in the world, with more than 4.5 million infections and at least 136,000 deaths. That figure is surpassed only by India and the United States.
