Dispute for the Ministry of Health revives recent tragedy – 06/16/2023 – Sou Ciência

One of the current discussions in our country concerns attempts by the so-called Centrão to obtain more “space” in federal government administration structures. Despite the fact that several of the “Centrão” parties and politicians have done everything for Bolsonaro to win the 2022 elections and are currently committed to attacking the environmental, indigenous and human rights agendas of the Lula government. Alliance, so far, only to pass the new Fiscal Framework. Lira, leader of Centrão, a declared Bolsonarista and president of Congress, pointed out which Ministry is in his sights: that of Health. And even more, “behind closed doors”, involving all positions.

Brazilian society reads and watches the news shocked by the Bolsonarist base intention (seeking to offer its services now to the new government) to take back the Ministry of Health after the criminal conduct of health policy during the Covid-19 pandemic. We, who are part of this society and of the teaching and research institutions that defended life during the tragedy of the pandemic (see SoU_Ciência panel on the role of federal universities in the pandemic), ask ourselves: when will this nightmare end? When will we have parliamentarians who put the interests of Public Health, Science and the Right to Life in the first place, instead of thinking only about the benefits of positions and the probable negotiations that can be carried out occupying a Ministry like this?

Last week, we were talking about the Health of the Planet, which is being ignored by the majority of Congress. This week, we’re talking about Human Health, which is now a bargaining chip with the physiological basis. The demonstrations are diverse, numerous sectors and entities are declaring that this Ministry should not enter the party’s political agenda and even so the threats continue. MS belongs to the State, its policy must be technical and based on scientific evidence. Handing it over to political merchants, whose interests are other, generally shady or even denialists and criminals, is once again going back to the bottom of the well of recent years.

For us, at Universities, Institutes and University Hospitals, who have experienced the Covid-19 pandemic, facing it with courage and with our lives, facing the Bolsonaro government’s denialist and criminal Ministry of Health, as attested by the CPI documents (among other scientific reports), it is unimaginable that we are now seeing and hearing some parliamentarians request that same Ministry after everything we have been through.

The Lula government was elected and assumed important social commitments and the country’s reconstruction with the progressive agendas of Health, Education, Science and Technology, Indigenous Peoples, Racial Equality, Women and Human Rights. We are aware of your commitment to the population that most needs SUS and State protection. The choice of Minister Nísia Trindade, a high-level researcher and former president of Fiocruz, followed this commitment. That is why so many sectors of society and health entities today strongly advocate that she and her team remain in office. We are aware of all its technical, scientific, academic and political attributes – which is why its leadership is undisputed in the field of health and science.

Having survived, as a minimally cohesive society, the pandemic and the legacy of the Bolsonaro government, which reminds us even more strongly of the need for Health and Science not to be victims again, as were the almost 800 thousand lives lost. Therefore, we cannot forget all that we suffered during this period, the mourning of millions of people, the post-traumatic stress similar to that of a war, and the need for justice and reparation for all the crimes of the pandemic. SoU_Ciência is participating in a network of research groups and independent media, and in partnership with AVICO (Association of Victims and Families of Victims of Covid-19) to guarantee justice, reparation, memory and review of conducts of the criminal tragedy that plagued us.

At Unifesp, under our management, and even with all the cuts in resources and without any support from the ministries, we coordinated at the national level the phase 3 studies of the Oxford vaccine that allowed us to present the results in January 2021 to Anvisa and subsequent emergency licensing. Our University Hospital, Hospital São Paulo, was a national reference in the SUS for intensive care and treatment. Meanwhile, Dr. Nísia Trindade, with the leadership of Fiocruz, reached a fundamental agreement that allowed the transfer of technology and also the production of the vaccine. There were moments of great uncertainty, but we managed to overcome. Her courage and skills as a manager were fundamental for us to get here.

Could it be that we are living again the actions of the Hidden Forces, this time not so hidden. As UnB Professor Emeritus, Isaac Roitman, wrote in his recent editorial: “The challenge is enormous, but it has already begun. We witness actions by “occult forces” to interrupt this reconstruction in the health area. and it suffices, with a strong voice and will: “Let us destroy the pillars of these occult forces.”

We need to continue our journey towards the reconstruction of what was destroyed, there is much to be done and it will not be with situations like this that we will move forward. It is necessary to take care of Public Health, Education and Science. At the same time, carry out the processes of justice, memory and reparation for the victims and their families, for the health professionals who worked on the front lines and for the institutions that need to be rebuilt. It is necessary to walk towards what is fair, reaffirm what cannot be given up and stop necropolitics in Brazil. The Ministry of Health belongs to the Brazilian people!

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