Bolsonaro threatens to leave the WHO

While Latin America has become the epicenter of the epidemic, the President of Brazil has lashed out at the World Health Organization (WHO) criticizing its strategy to curb the Coronavirus worldwide.

The president warned the WHO to leave its ideological prejudices or, otherwise, it would follow the example of the United States and remove Brazil from it. The threat was made public during statements at the presidential palace after he was asked about a "claim made by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for the 24.2 million dollars Brazil owes it," according to La Vanguardia.

"Either the WHO works without bias or we are leaving too," Bolsonaro said, referring to the actions of the North American country.

Currently, Brazil is the second country with the most infections with more than 615 thousand, after the United States, and the third with the most deaths, after the US and the United Kingdom. Its numbers represent half of the infections in the region and it has cost him two Health Ministers in a few months.

Despite having used the United States as an example to lash out at the WHO, Donald Trump criticized his approach to the coronavirus, warning that it was a mistake to pretend to follow the Swedish path and not perform mandatory isolation for a few weeks. "If we had done that we would have lost up to 2.5 million lives," said Trump. However, both have had a similar path in the management of the virus as both have criticized the WHO and supported the use of chloroquine, a drug that the WHO has reiterated has not been proven to work.

Also read: Coronavirus: 5 different crises in the same region

Prior to this Bolsonaro threat, the WHO had already criticized the president for his actions in the face of the pandemic and for going against the organization's recommendations. According to RT, “in mid-May, Margaret Harris, spokeswoman for the World Health Organization (WHO), affirmed that the warnings that the organism made since the beginning of the epidemic were not taken seriously by Brazil and the United States”.

In response to this criticism, the Brazilian president said in the same statements where he made the threat that "we do not need outsiders offering their opinion on health here."

Jair Bolsonaro has confronted not only the WHO but his governors, mayors and his own cabinet, since his position against the coronavirus and its management has gone against world parameters.