Rio Mayor Decrees State of Calamity in Rio Over “Serious Health Crisis”

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Marcelo Crivella, decreed a state of public calamity in the city on Wednesday night, April 8th, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The decree, published in a special edition of the official Municipal Gazette, states that the fight against the pandemic “is blocking compliance with financial, budgetary and fiscal obligations”. The capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro has already recorded 73 deaths by Covid-19 and had 1,449 confirmed cases of the disease.

Among the justifications for the decree of a state of calamity, Crivella points to “the need to implement measures of a budgetary, financial and fiscal nature that are capable of increasing, exceptionally, the protection of public health”.

The decree of calamity means the government is no longer subject to budget restrictions, nor to the limits on expenditures under the federal Fiscal Responsibility Law.

The decree also points out that the federal government and the National Congress have recognized the state of calamity in recent days due to Covid-19, while the state of Rio de Janeiro decreed an emergency on March 20th.