After the government rehired Cuban doctors to fight the coronavirus, Bolsonaro now says they "are being sold off by the dictatorship."

247 - After backtracking and authorizing the hiring of Cuban doctors to work in the fight against the coronavirus in Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro criticized the health training provided by the Caribbean island, which has one of the most advanced medical systems in the world. "These Cubans are, nothing more and nothing less, an object for sale by the Cuban government. Not the government, but the Cuban dictatorship," he stated.

According to the occupant of the Planalto Palace, the press is reporting incorrectly "that we are going to call on Cubans." "That's not it," said Bolsonaro, stating, without much clarity, that only the professionals who remained in the country after the termination of the contract (of the Mais Médicos program) with Cuba will be able to work in the fight against the coronavirus, if necessary. 

On Monday (16), the executive secretary of the Ministry of Health, João Gabbardo, stated that the government will rehire Cuban doctors to work in the coronavirus coverage. "We will call all the Cuban doctors who were working in the program (Mais Médicos). We will call medical students," he told GloboNews. 

"During my campaign, I said that I would grant visas to any Cuban who decided to stay in Brazil," said Bolsonaro. "What I discussed with Mandetta, and everything is settled, is that for two years they will be able to continue doing what they did here in the previous government. Nothing more than that. They can renew their medical degrees if they want, right? It's voluntary. They will have to take the exam, and if they pass, everything is fine," he continued.

"We are not going to call in doctors from other countries. At the moment, what we have here seems to be enough. Now, if Mandetta thinks we can open up space for other doctors, those doctors are qualified," he added.

In November 2018, the Cuban Ministry of Health announced it would withdraw from the Mais Médicos program in protest against Bolsonaro.

"The president-elect of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, with direct, derogatory and threatening references to the presence of our doctors, declared and reiterated that he will modify the terms and conditions of the Mais Médicos Program, disrespecting the Pan American Health Organization and its agreement with Cuba, by questioning the preparation of our doctors and conditioning their permanence in the program on the revalidation of their degrees and as the only way to contract them individually," said the text from the Cuban Ministry of Health.

After being elected, Bolsonaro stated that he had always been against the Mais Médicos program. "First, for humanitarian reasons, 70% [of the money] stays with their government, and we have no proof whatsoever that they really know what they are doing. It's slave labor and I'm not going to invite them to stay," he continued. "It's slave labor and I'm not going to invite them to stay," Bolsonaro affirmed later, in a press conference at the Banco do Brasil Cultural Center (CCBB).

That year, Bolsonaro backtracked and said he would keep the program.