Thursday December 30th 2021
Flood disaster in Brazil
Bolsonaro turns down aid from Argentina
The Brazilian province of Bahia was hit by severe storms, floods and landslides in December. Meanwhile, the right-wing extremist head of state spends his vacation with his family. Bolsonaro rejects an offer of help from Argentina.
Despite the devastating floods in Brazil, the right-wing radical head of state Jair Bolsonaro has declared that the aid offered from Argentina is “not necessary” at the moment. Aid could be accepted if conditions worsened, Bolsonaro said on Twitter. Bolsonaro, who is already under heavy fire for dealing with the disaster, has a tense relationship with the left-wing Argentine head of state Alberto Fernández.
Bolsonaro said his government would accept “aid and international donations”. He cited blankets and mattresses from a Japanese aid organization as examples. The floods in Brazil affected 136 cities and municipalities, mainly in the state of Bahia. 24 people have already died and 90,000 people had to leave their homes.
The Argentine ambassador to Brazil, Daniel Scioli, offered disinfectants, water treatment options and psychosocial support on Monday. Fernández is an ally of the former left-wing president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is expected to take part in next year’s elections as Bolsonaro’s rival. According to the latest polls, Lula can count on a comfortable lead. Lula tweeted that it was “deplorable” when a president who did not help refused to help.
Pressure on Bolsonaro is growing
Bolsonaro had promised some aid payments for the flooded region, but these were criticized as inadequate. So far, he has only flown over the disaster region once on December 12th. Because he is meanwhile continuing his vacation with his family in the south of Brazil, Bolsonaro is increasingly coming under criticism.
The authorities said that December had not seen so much rainfall in Bahia in 32 years. In some cities, the rains were so heavy that it rained for a whole month. Meteorologists fear that violent thunderstorms could rage in the heavily populated states in southeast Brazil in the coming days, especially in Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.