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Brazilian military hard up to explain Viagra purchase — Analysis

Bolsonaro is criticized by the opposition for buying 35,000+ impotence tablets mainly to support his navy ship.

Critics of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have been piling onto the populist after reports arose on Monday that his government had approved the purchase of more than 35,320 doses of generic Viagra for the country’s armed forces.

Gleisi Hoffman, president of the Worker’s Party, condemned the incident “criminal spending spree”While Ciro Gomes, presidential candidate, called for the purchase “tough to justify”And an “absurdity,”You can add that it was “no coincidence” that it happened during the presidency of Bolsonaro, whom Gomes accused of acting to “dishonor the uniform.”

Using the government’s transparency portal and price panel, federal deputy Elias Vaz of the Brazilian Socialist Party had discovered eight distinct purchases of sildenafil – the generic name for the erectile dysfunction drug the US pharma giant Pfizer has marketed as Viagra. Vaz asserts that the Brazilian government paid more than the market for the pills. Most of the money went to the navy. According to Vaz’s findings, 28,300 little blue pills were accounted by sailors. The army received 5,000 while the air force received 2,000. 

“Health facilities across the country often face shortages of drugs to treat patients with chronic illnesses, such as insulin, and the Armed Forces receive thousands of Viagra pills. Society deserves an explanation,”Vaz made the statement in a Monday release. 

“Public money, which comes out of the pockets of all of us Brazilians, has to be used to serve the public interest,”Marcelo Freixo, a federal deputy, said that the Socialist also spoke out and added that he’d ask Brazil’s public prosecutor for an investigation. 

Marinha do Brasil responded to the claim that it purchased the drug but stated that it was being used for pulmonary hypertension. Sildenafil can sometimes be prescribed for this condition. Dosing for pulmonary hypertension calls for 20 mg every eight hours. The pills that were purchased, however, came in 25mg or 50mg dosages. These are commonly prescribed to treat erectile dysfunction. 

Bolsonaro, a former soldier officer was elected to office in 2018. He ran on a populist platform. Brazilian lawmakers have accused him of incompetence and even “crimes against humanity” for his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, including opposition to lockdowns and vaccine mandates.

Bolsonaro faces a tough re-election bid in October, with opinion polls currently showing his main challenger – the former president and Workers’ Party candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva – with a double-digit lead.

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