Brazil’s Bolsonaro joins protest against stay-at-home orders

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Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday joined hundreds of demonstrators outside army headquarters in the capital Brasilia protesting stay-at-home orders issued by state governors.

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The crowd of around 600 called on the army to intervene in the handling of the coronavirus pandemic and demanded the closure of Congress.

Some held up posters declaring "Military intervention with Bolsonaro".

"I am here because I believe in you and you are here because you believe in Brazil," the president told the crowd from the back of a pick-up truck.

Bolsonaro, a former army captain, has constantly criticised partial quarantine measures adopted by governors, including those in charge of the country's most populous states, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

On Friday, he sacked his health minister, who supported the restrictions that Bolsonaro says are damaging the economy.

Brazil, with a population of more than 200 million, has the most COVID-19 cases in Latin America — more than 38,000 as of Sunday, with more than 2,400 deaths.

During his address, which was interspersed with fits of coughing, the president made no response to the crowd's cRead More – Source

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