<p>President Jair Bolsonaro hit the streets Sunday for a rally with his supporters, ditching his face mask and breaking social distancing measures even as coronavirus cases surged in Brazil.</p>.<p>The far-right president arrived at the rally outside the presidential palace in Brasilia in a white surgical mask, but soon took it off to greet the cheering crowd, shake hands and embrace supporters, at one point even hoisting a young boy onto his shoulders.</p>.<p>The rally came as Brazil emerged as a new flashpoint in the pandemic.</p>.<p><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/coronavirus-live-news-covid-19-latest-updates.html" target="_blank">CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH</a></strong></p>.<p>With nearly 350,000 confirmed cases, Brazil now has the second-biggest caseload in the world, after the United States. It has registered more than 22,000 deaths.</p>.<p>Experts say under-testing means the real figures are likely far higher.</p>.<p>Bolsonaro has famously compared the virus to a "little flu" and argues that stay-at-home measures are unnecessarily hurting the economy.</p>.<p>He grinned as flag-waving supporters shouted "Legend!" and "The people support you, Bolsonaro!"</p>.<p>But although Bolsonaro has a solid core of support -- about 30 percent of voters, according to recent polls -- he faces mounting criticism for his handling of the coronavirus crisis, as well as a potentially explosive probe into whether he obstructed justice to protect his family from police investigations.</p>.<p>The probe took a shocking twist Friday when the Supreme Court judge who ordered it, Celso de Mello, released a video of an April 22 cabinet meeting that investigators have been analyzing for evidence.</p>.<p>In the expletive-laced video, Bolsonaro and his ministers sling insults at state governors, talk of jailing Supreme Court judges and barely mention the coronavirus pandemic at a moment when it was snowballing in Brazil.</p>.<p>Sometimes called a "Tropical Trump," Bolsonaro has regularly broken social distancing guidelines.</p>.<p>He has courted controversy during the pandemic by attending rallies, going out for street food, hosting barbecues and going to the shooting range.</p>
<p>President Jair Bolsonaro hit the streets Sunday for a rally with his supporters, ditching his face mask and breaking social distancing measures even as coronavirus cases surged in Brazil.</p>.<p>The far-right president arrived at the rally outside the presidential palace in Brasilia in a white surgical mask, but soon took it off to greet the cheering crowd, shake hands and embrace supporters, at one point even hoisting a young boy onto his shoulders.</p>.<p>The rally came as Brazil emerged as a new flashpoint in the pandemic.</p>.<p><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/coronavirus-live-news-covid-19-latest-updates.html" target="_blank">CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH</a></strong></p>.<p>With nearly 350,000 confirmed cases, Brazil now has the second-biggest caseload in the world, after the United States. It has registered more than 22,000 deaths.</p>.<p>Experts say under-testing means the real figures are likely far higher.</p>.<p>Bolsonaro has famously compared the virus to a "little flu" and argues that stay-at-home measures are unnecessarily hurting the economy.</p>.<p>He grinned as flag-waving supporters shouted "Legend!" and "The people support you, Bolsonaro!"</p>.<p>But although Bolsonaro has a solid core of support -- about 30 percent of voters, according to recent polls -- he faces mounting criticism for his handling of the coronavirus crisis, as well as a potentially explosive probe into whether he obstructed justice to protect his family from police investigations.</p>.<p>The probe took a shocking twist Friday when the Supreme Court judge who ordered it, Celso de Mello, released a video of an April 22 cabinet meeting that investigators have been analyzing for evidence.</p>.<p>In the expletive-laced video, Bolsonaro and his ministers sling insults at state governors, talk of jailing Supreme Court judges and barely mention the coronavirus pandemic at a moment when it was snowballing in Brazil.</p>.<p>Sometimes called a "Tropical Trump," Bolsonaro has regularly broken social distancing guidelines.</p>.<p>He has courted controversy during the pandemic by attending rallies, going out for street food, hosting barbecues and going to the shooting range.</p>