Brazil’s over 3,00,000 deaths from the coronavirus amount to the “biggest genocide” in the Latin American country’s history, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Friday in a scathing attack on current leader Jair Bolsonaro.
“On Tuesday, 3,158 people died of Covid in Brazil. It’s the biggest genocide in our history,” Mr. Lula told Germany’s Der Spiegel weekly, adding that Mr. Bolsonaro had lied to the Brazilian people about the pandemic. “We must save Brazil from COVID-19,” the former President added, saying that “Brazil will not withstand it if this man continues to govern in this way”.
As Brazil surpassed 3,00,000 deaths from the virus on Wednesday, Mr. Lula called on Mr. Bolsonaro to apologise to the families of victims.
More than 12 million people have been infected in Brazil, including the virus-sceptical far-right President Bolsonaro.
Mr. Lula, 75, led Brazil through an economic boom from 2003 to 2010 as head of the left-wing Workers’ Party before being sentenced to 26 years in prison on charges of taking bribes in 2017.
After the corruption conviction against him was annulled earlier this month, recent opinion polls suggest that he is the best-placed politician to challenge Mr. Bolsonaro in next year’s elections.
