Bolsonaro appeals against decision that forces him to wear mask

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has appealed the decision of a judge who forces him to wear a face mask in public spaces in the Federal District, due to the covid-19 pandemic.

When appealing, the Attorney General’s Office (AGU), the body that defends the executive in legal proceedings, argued that the decision handed down at the beginning of the week by judge Renato Borelli was unnecessary, since the use of a mask is already mandatory in the Federal District.

The agency believes that a popular action to impose an obligation on the head of state has no place, and Bolsonaro is already subject to the rule in force in the Federal District like any other citizen.

The AGU clarified that the appeal is not intended to exempt the president from the obligation to wear a mask, but rather to ensure that Bolsonaro is treated like any other citizen.

Since March, the use of face masks in public places in the Brazilian capital, Brasília, and other cities in the Federal District, is mandatory, according to the decree of the local authorities.

Jair Bolsonaro usually walks around Brasília without a mask, violating these rules, in addition to participating in acts and demonstrations in which other regulations adopted during the pandemic, such as social detachment and social isolation, have been violated.

“The conduct of the President of the Republic, who refused to wear the mask in public and local acts in the Federal District, shows a clear intention to break the rules,” said Judge Renato Borelli, in his decision signed on Monday.

According to the judge, failure to comply with the measure will result in a daily fine of two thousand reais (about 326 euros).

Brazil, the second country in the world with the most deaths and infections, on Thursday totaled 54,971 dead and 1,228,114 people diagnosed with the covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, officially registered in the country on February 26.

The covid-19 pandemic has already killed more than 490,000 people and infected more than 9.68 million people in 196 countries and territories, according to a report by the French agency AFP

– .