Brasil: The President And His Virus

BRAZIL

The President and the Virus

President Jair Bolsonaro’s fortunes have been indirectly proportional to the coronavirus statistics in Brazil. The more the virus spreads, the lower his popularity plunges. Whether it bottoms out and gives him enough time to stage a comeback reelection campaign in 2022 is the big question facing Brazilians, wrote Al Jazeera.

Currently, Brazil has one of the highest coronavirus infection rates worldwide and the second-highest number of deaths after the US. Writing in the Conversation UK, political scientist Alfredo Saad Filho said the country has had the worst response to the virus in the world, owing mostly to inequality within society and poor leadership in government.

Mammoth protests against Bolsonaro’s handling of the coronavirus have been occurring throughout the South American country. This Reuters video paints a picture of the sometimes violent situation.

Meanwhile, Bolsonaro has stirred controversy as a rightwing populist who has downplayed the potentially lethal effects of the coronavirus. He frequently appears without a mask, shaking hands and posing for pictures. He once was filmed sneezing into his hand and immediately afterward shaking the hand of an elderly woman. A judge eventually ordered him to wear a mask while in the capital of Brasilia, the BBC wrote.

It was too little, too late: On Tuesday, he announced he had tested positive, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“This virus is like the rain, it’s going to get you,” a masked Bolsonaro told reporters Tuesday. He remained unsubdued, telling Brazilians to get back to work. “Life goes on, Brazil has to produce.”

A former army captain in the oppressive junta that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985, Bolsonaro has supported allies who have called for the dissolution of Congress and the Supreme Court because they oppose his agenda, MercoPress explained.

Environmentalists have criticized his policy of easing rules designed to curb deforestation in order to stoke the economy, as Reuters described. Brazilians of color have formed activist groups to protest racism and police brutality, Americas Quarterly wrote.

Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo recently launched a pro-democracy campaign to push back against the dictatorial tendencies of Bolsonaro’s government, the Guardian reported. “We saw, and will never forget, the horrors of dictatorship, and we will always champion democracy,” a Folha de São Paulo editorial declared.

The strongman president might weather a liberal invective. But he won’t improve his standing amid an economic meltdown. The International Monetary Fund recently forecast economic losses of 9.1 percent due to the pandemic. Congressional critics are also investigating corruption allegations and looking into impeachment.

As a result, Covid-19 might wind up destroying Bolsonaro’s political career and the brand of populism he harnessed to win office, Financial Times columnist Gideon Rachman wrote.

Some hope that’s all it destroys.