Brazil business elite blast Bolsonaro, who remains unconvinced on COVID-19 restrictions

SAO PAULO - Hundreds of Brazilian business leaders and economists blasted President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the coronavirus crisis on Monday and called for a new policy approach as the country grapples with spiking COVID-19 deaths and overwhelmed hospitals.

The letter, published in newspapers and signed by former central bank chiefs and some of Brazil's richest bankers, underscored a growing revolt by business leaders against the far-right president whom many had backed for his 2018 election. Without naming Bolsonaro, they upbraided "the country's highest political leadership" for ignoring science, encouraging crowds, hyping unproven treatments and "flirting with the anti-vaccine movement."