Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro apologized on Wednesday after sharing a video on social media mistakenly citing a food shortage in a wholesale market, allegedly caused by containment due to the coronavirus epidemic. " I apologize, there was no proper verification of the event. Apparently, in this establishment there was maintenance work. I want to apologize publicly, the video was quickly deleted, "said Bolsonaro in an interview with Band TV.
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“ It happens, we make mistakes with the information. I have the humility to apologize, ”added the president. Very critical of the containment measures aimed at stopping the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic, the head of state had however changed tone Tuesday evening, after a first speech which had caused an uproar last week. He admitted that what he previously called " little flu " was " the biggest challenge " for Brazil. On the video he had shared on his Twitter and Facebook accounts on Wednesday, before it was deleted, we could see a man filming himself showing the wholesale market in Belo Horizonte (southeast) completely empty.
" Look, we call it a shortage (...) You criticized the president's speech thinking that the economy was not so important and that it was necessary to save lives, look. Hunger also kills , ”says the author of this video, who says it dates from March 31, but does not specify when it was filmed. Several local media reports showed that the market stalls were full on Wednesday morning, with trucks arriving regularly loaded with food. Many associations representing supermarkets have indicated in recent days that the supply was assured normally, ruling out any risk of shortage.
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In recent days, Twitter, Facebook and Instragram have deleted other messages published on the official accounts of the president, considering that they conveyed " disinformation " causing harm to the population. This was not the case with Wednesday's video, which remained visible for three hours on Facebook and Twitter, before being removed. It was accompanied by a text criticizing the containment measures taken at the local level by most of the states and municipalities of Brazil.
“ It is not a disagreement between the president and certain mayors and governors. These are facts, a reality that must be shown. After the destruction, it is useless to show the culprits ”, one can read on the message. Tuesday evening, Mr. Bolsonaro had yet appealed in his televised speech for a sacred union " of Parliament, the judiciary, governors, mayors and society " in a " pact for the preservation of life ". For the first time since the start of the crisis, the president had not openly questioned the containment measures, even if he had reiterated that they should not harm the economy.
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" The collateral effects of the measures taken to combat the coronavirus cannot be worse than the disease itself, " he said. The pandemic has killed more than 200 people in Brazil, where a peak is expected in late April.
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