RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil’s military came under severe scrutiny on Monday after a lawmaker revealed he had bought Viagra pills for soldiers, sparking a flurry of jokes on social media.
Congressman Ilyas Vaz said he was informed through a Freedom of Information request that the President Jair BolsonaroThe U.S. government approved an order for 35,000 erectile dysfunction pills for the armed forces.
“There is not enough medicine in our hospitals, and Bolsonaro and his entourage are using public money to buy the ‘little blue pill’,” the opposition lawmaker called the purchase “immoral”.
The centre-left deputy said the documents he received do not mention Viagra by name, but says the order was for sildenafil, the active ingredient in the drug.
Ministry of Defence A statement said the pills were actually “for treating patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension” or high blood pressure in the lungs, another use for sildenafil.
It did nothing to dampen the happiness of social media users.
Cartoons featuring doping cannon tanks spread on Twitter, where Viagra was one of them. BrazilTop trending topics.
“This explains why the military’s support for Bolsonaro grows and grows,” said one user, playing on the far-right president’s tight ties with the armed forces.
A former army captain, Bolsonaro has packed his administration with members of the armed forces, and is openly indifferent to Brazil’s 1964–1985 military dictatorship, despite his record of rights violations.
“Some say these bullets are to help the armed forces *** democracy even harder,” wrote the satirical news site sensational,
leftist Congressman Marcelo Frexo And Elias Vaz, meanwhile, said he would ask prosecutors to investigate whether there was something else bloated about the purchase: the bill.
He said there is evidence the government was overbilled by 143 percent – often a sign of corruption.
Congressman Ilyas Vaz said he was informed through a Freedom of Information request that the President Jair BolsonaroThe U.S. government approved an order for 35,000 erectile dysfunction pills for the armed forces.
“There is not enough medicine in our hospitals, and Bolsonaro and his entourage are using public money to buy the ‘little blue pill’,” the opposition lawmaker called the purchase “immoral”.
The centre-left deputy said the documents he received do not mention Viagra by name, but says the order was for sildenafil, the active ingredient in the drug.
Ministry of Defence A statement said the pills were actually “for treating patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension” or high blood pressure in the lungs, another use for sildenafil.
It did nothing to dampen the happiness of social media users.
Cartoons featuring doping cannon tanks spread on Twitter, where Viagra was one of them. BrazilTop trending topics.
“This explains why the military’s support for Bolsonaro grows and grows,” said one user, playing on the far-right president’s tight ties with the armed forces.
A former army captain, Bolsonaro has packed his administration with members of the armed forces, and is openly indifferent to Brazil’s 1964–1985 military dictatorship, despite his record of rights violations.
“Some say these bullets are to help the armed forces *** democracy even harder,” wrote the satirical news site sensational,
leftist Congressman Marcelo Frexo And Elias Vaz, meanwhile, said he would ask prosecutors to investigate whether there was something else bloated about the purchase: the bill.
He said there is evidence the government was overbilled by 143 percent – often a sign of corruption.