SAO PAULO (AP) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro chose his fourth health minister on Monday since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, amid the worst disease in the country to date and a string of mistakes condemned by public health experts.
Marcelo Queiroga, the president of the Brazilian Cardiology Association, will replace Eduardo Pazuello, an active duty army general with logistics expertise who reached the position last May despite having no previous health experience.
Earlier Monday, Pazuello acknowledged in a press conference that Bolsonaro wanted to replace him. The first candidate for the job, cardiologist Ludhmila Hajjar, turned it down.
Pazuello’s departure marks the inauguration of Brazil’s fourth health minister during the pandemic, although he has chaired the ministry for the longest period of the three to date. The revolving door signals the challenges for the government of Latin America’s largest nation to take effective measures to control the spread of the virus – or even agree on what measures are needed.
Pazuello’s two predecessors left the position amid disagreements with Bolsonaro, who criticized the wide social distance and supported the use of an unproven anti-malaria agent to treat the disease. He continues to hold those positions, despite admonitions from health experts and studies showing that the drug has no effect on COVID-19.
Pazuello turned out to be compliant. Immediately after he took the job, his ministry supported the use and distribution of the malaria pill. On several occasions he said that his boss told him what to do, and he obeyed.
“The conversation (with Queiroga) was excellent. I already knew him a few years ago. He has everything it takes to do a good job and will continue what Pazuello has done to this day, ” Bolsonaro told supporters at the entrance to the presidential residence in Brasilia, adding that there will be a transition period of will be a maximum of two weeks with the outgoing and incoming minister.
“Pazuello’s work was well done in the management area. Now we are in a more aggressive phase in the fight against the virus, ”said Brazil’s president.
Brazil has recorded nearly 280,000 deaths from the virus, almost all of which were under its care. The toll has deteriorated recently, with the country currently having an average of over 1,800 deaths per day. Major cities’ health systems are on the verge of collapse, and lawmakers affiliated with Bolsonaro have proposed suitable replacements for Pazuello, threatening to increase pressure for an investigation into his handling of the crisis.
The country’s highest court is also investigating Pazuello for alleged neglect that contributed to the collapse of the Amazonas state health care system earlier this year. That investigation is now being sent to a judge at the lower court.
Weeks later, in a particularly embarrassing episode, his ministry accidentally sent a shipment of vaccines destined for the state of Amazonas to the neighboring state of Amapa and vice versa, after the abbreviations for each state were mixed up.
Finally, Pazuello faced intense criticism for the slow rollout of vaccines in Brazil. According to Our World in Data, an online research site comparing official government statistics, only 5.4% of Brazilians have been vaccinated. Almost all were shots of the Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac, about which Bolsonaro repeatedly expressed doubts.
Pazuello’s Ministry of Health also delayed its decision to purchase the vaccine from the Sao Paulo state government until it had no other option to begin immunization in January.
The only vaccine agreement Pazuello had signed at the time, for 100 million doses of the AstraZeneca shot, has so far yielded few shots in Brazilians’ arms. His ministry has since been in the process of amalgamating agreements with other suppliers, and recently making deals to acquire the Pfizer and Sputnik V shots.
Pazuello said at the press conference that he would not step down and insisted there would be continuity with whoever takes his position.
Cardiologist Hajjar had already revealed that Bolsonaro had interviewed her to replace Pazuello. She told television channel Globo News that science has already decided against treatments that Bolsonaro and his legions of supporters continue to defend, such as drugs to combat malaria and parasites, and that the country needs to take tougher action on activities. She said she turned down the position.
“He has to choose someone he trusts, who is aligned with him, his ideas, his vision and the government’s desire. And I’m definitely not that person, ‘she said.
Hajjar predicts between 500,000 and 600,000 total deaths, not to mention the long-term consequences unless Brazil changes course.
Queiroga has already called Bolsonaro “a great Brazilian”. His social media outlets have not criticized the president’s handling of the pandemic and have pushed for a rapid rollout of vaccines.
AP journalist David Biller contributed to this report from Rio de Janeiro.