RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A former Brazilian health minister has denied receiving any direct orders from President Jair Bolsonaro during his 10 months in the post, providing Senate testimony analysts see as an attempt to shield the country’s leader from any blame over the government’s pandemic response. Eduardo Pazuello’s testimony Wednesday to the Senate committee investigating the Bolsonaro administration’s handling of COVID-19 had been among the most widely anticipated. He was Brazil’s top health official from May 2020 to March 2021. He told the senators that “the actions were all mine.” He added that the president never “issued an order to do anything other than what I was doing.” His testimony is scheduled to continue Thursday.
