Brazil’s Treasury Secretary Mansueto Almeida told financial blog Brazil Journal in an interview published Sunday that he plans to resign from his post in August. The announcement caused the Brazilian real currency to tumble by 3% on Monday, as South America’s most-populated country deals with the economic impact of the coronavirus.

"I'm tired and soon there will be new discussions of fiscal adjustment after the COVID pandemic," Almeida told the blog.

Almeida, 52, has served under previous Brazilian President Michel Temer. During the current presidential administration of Jair Bolsonaro, Almeida has advocated macroeconomic reforms and pushed to reduce the country’s public debt.

Brazil’s economy has been hard hit by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In the first quarter of the year, the Brazilian economy contracted by 1.5%, the biggest decline since 2015. The coronavirus resulted in a 2% drop in household consumption during the quarter, damaging economic growth.

Brazil currently has the second-highest number of coronavirus cases in the world, behind the United States. As of Monday at 2:10 p.m. ET, there are 867,624 cases of the virus in Brazil, with a death toll of 43,332.

Bolsonaro has frequently downplayed the virus, calling it the “little flu.” He has also feuded with state governors implementing lockdown orders and touted hydroxychloroquine, an unproven treatment for the virus.

The virus has disproportionately impacted Brazil’s indigenous population and low-income favela communities. Afro-Brazilians have also had a higher mortality rate from the virus than white patients, according to data collected by medical researchers in May.

RELATED STORIES
Coronavirus