For distancing and masks: who is Brazil’s new Health Minister?

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The new Health Minister, cardiologist Marcelo Queiroga, supports mask wearing and social distancing measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hours before choosing Queiroga, the president had dismissed cardiologist Ludhmilla Hajjar for the position, a supporter of the same measures recommended by Queiroga.

In a video dated March 5th, Queiroga points out that no “specific treatment” has yet been developed to control the disease, but that “effective measures” already exist. “Like, for example, the wearing of masks (…). Also social distancing. And the way we can coexist with the preventive measures to contain the pandemic and try to lead our normal lives, because life can’t stop,” he said during an exhibition at the Museu do Amanhã (Museum of Tomorrow), in Rio de Janeiro, which addressed the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil.

Queiroga also reiterated that vaccination is the “main ally” to curb the novel coronavirus, although its implementation in the country is at a far from ideal pace. “We are still slow with the vaccine, but this campaign will undoubtedly be stepped up, because the vaccine is our main ally in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said, at the same event.

A physician for over 30 years and recognized in the field – he is the current president of the Brazilian Society of Cardiology -, Queiroga also enjoys good rapport in the political arena. He is close to one of the president’s sons, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, and has links to the Bolsonaro clan through Paraíba politics – he was born in João Pessoa and graduated in medicine at the Federal University of Paraíba.

On January 20th this year, Queiroga was featured in a post by the cardiology society while receiving the first dose of an immunizer against the novel coronavirus. In the post, the caption reads: “the Brazilian Society of Cardiology reiterates its position before society, supporting the significance of the wide vaccination of the population against Covid-19.”

Flávio Bolsonaro had been advocating Queiroga’s name to lead the portfolio since Henrique Mandetta stepped down in April 2020. Since then, oncologist Nelson Teich and general Eduardo Pazuello have taken over the post. Queiroga is the brother of former João Pessoa city councilor Marco Antônio (PV), who ran for reelection in 2020, but failed to secure enough votes. According to people close to him, the new Health Minister has always considered himself right-wing and is a declared Jair Bolsonaro voter – in a post, he once referred to him as “myth.”

Last week, he met with Minister of Tourism Gilson Machado to discuss the choice of Rio de Janeiro to host the 2022 World Congress of Cardiology. In the post, Queiroga refers to Machado as the Minister “from the heart of Brazilians.”

On social networks, the new minister likes to display his good relationship with renowned doctors in the area and politicians, such as ex-senators Cássio Cunha Lima and Ana Amélia Lemos, as well as Flávio Bolsonaro.