1. President offers jobs in exchange for congressional support

President Jair Bolsonaro sped up the process of offering jobs in exchange for support from Centrão – the group of politicians from the political center. Centrão could offer between 130 and 200 votes in support of bills proposed by the administration. The negotiation strategy has already shown results. On Tuesday, the group – which includes PP, PL, Republicanos, Progressistas and Solidariedade, among other political parties – sided with the administration during a vote in the Chamber of Deputies on a bill granting financial aid to states and cities. These politicians were previously opposed to the Bolsonaro administration. Progressistas was the first party to receive a seat in the administration, nominating the new director of the National Department of Works Against Drought, which manages a R$ 1 billion budget and is key in the political and economic influence circle, especially among cities from the Brazilian northeast.

O Estado de S. Paulo: Bolsonaro troca cargos por apoio do Centrão
Folha de S.Paulo: Centrão gerencia distribuição de cargos no governo
Valor Econômico: PP negocia comando do fundo para a Educação

2. Bolsonaro takes executives to the Federal Supreme Court and asks for quarantine measures to be eased

President Jair Bolsonaro paid an unexpected visit to the Federal Supreme Court alongside 15 executives, business directors, ministers and military personnel to explain to the court that the Brazilian economy is close to collapsing due to restrictions imposed by states and cities in the fight against the coronavirus. The Federal Supreme Court has decided that state governors and mayors are authorized to determine social isolation measures and the suspension of economic activities following recommendations by the World Health Organization. Bolsonaro made an appeal to Federal Supreme Court President Dias Toffoli, claiming that there is a need to ease restrictive measures. “Executives have brought forward their complaints, the issue of unemployment, of the economy not working anymore. The side effects of the fight against the virus cannot be more damaging than the disease itself,” he said. Toffoli said the pandemic required restrictive measures and suggested the creation of a crisis committee made up of representatives from the federal government, legislative and judiciary officials as well as state governors, mayors, executives and workers to discuss the matter. Yesterday, the administration published a decree increasing the number of activities considered essential that would be allowed to continue to work despite social isolation restrictions.

Valor Econômico: Bolsonaro volta a pressionar STF contra isolamento
Folha de S.Paulo: Empresários dizem que ida ao STF não foi planejada
O Estado de S. Paulo: Decreto de Bolsonaro amplia atividades essenciais
O Globo: Decreto muda pouco a situação de empresas

3. In 30 days, number of coronavirus deaths in the country rises to over 8,600 from 566

Brazil has registered over 8,000 deaths resulting from the coronavirus in just 30 days. On April 6th, the country had a total of 566 deaths. Yesterday, this number stood at over 8,600. This morning, it was over 9,200. São Paulo, the largest city in Latin America, will increase restrictions on the number of vehicles allowed on the roads from Monday. The goal is to halve the number of cars circulating in order to force people into following social isolation measures. In the state of São Paulo – the epicenter of the disease in the country – wearing masks outside the house has been made mandatory. The state government has also increased measures to restrict the circulation of people. Nearly 6.8 million people are already under lockdown in the country. In the north and northeast, Maranhão, Ceará and Pará have implemented a lockdown in cities where the ICU occupancy rate is above 90%. In Roraima, the occupancy rate is at 100%. Of the 27 state capitals, 8 (Manaus, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Fortaleza, Boa Vista, São Luís, Belém and São Paulo) are nearing a collapse of the healthcare system, with almost all of their intensive care units being occupied.

G1: País registra mais de 90% das mortes em apenas 30 dias
Folha de S.Paulo: SP amplia rodízio para segurar circulação de carros
O Estado de S. Paulo: Bloqueio total atinge 6,8 milhões de brasileiros
O Globo: Acompanhe os números da pandemia
IRRD Covid-19: Veja o mapeamento de casos no Brasil e no mundo

4. Decrease in consumption in Brazil could reach R$ 500 billion

The Brazilian Institute of Economics at Fundação Getúlio Vargas estimates the decrease in consumption in the country – worsened by the coronavirus pandemic – could remove up to R$ 500 billion (USD $86.86 billion) from the economy this year alone. Consumer spending represents nearly two thirds of the Brazilian GDP. According to the study, activities suspended during the pandemic will result in an 8% decrease in family spending and lead to a drop in workers’ income of as much as 15%. The losses will affect sectors such as tourism, transport and most of the manufacturing industry, which in April has registered its highest idleness rate in the past 20 years. Plants have been working at just 57.5% of their capacity.

5. Cyberattacks rise 131% in the first quarter of the year

A study by the internet security services sector reveals that Brazil suffered 1.6 billion attempted cyberattacks in the first quarter of the year. In Latin America there were 9.7 billion attempts. According to the study – which is based on world incidence – criminals are taking advantage of a large volume of people looking for information on coronavirus to spread phishing campaigns. According to Fortinet Brasil, attacks were previously focused on finding vulnerabilities in the system, but this has changed as social isolation measures have intensified. In March, there was a 131% increase in the number of computer virus incidents in Brazil when compared to the same period of the previous year. This trend of increased attacks has been monitored since January.

O Estado de S. Paulo: Cresce número de ataques cibernéticos no Brasil
Telesíntese: Brasil sofreu 1,6 bilhão de ataques cibernéticos na pandemia