Barsil: Gangs To The Rescue

BRAZIL

Gangsters to the Rescue

Drug gangs have imposed curfews in the “favelas” (slums) of Rio de Janeiro.

They had to – no one else was doing anything.

Out went the “baile funk” dance parties, drug markets and other hallmarks of the so-called City of God slum, which registered its first case of the novel coronavirus in late March.

“We’re imposing a curfew because nobody is taking this seriously,” gangsters told residents via loudspeakers, according to MercoPress, the South Atlantic news agency. “Whoever is in the street screwing around or going for a walk will receive a corrective and serve as an example. Better to stay home doing nothing. The message has been (delivered).”

Contrast that clear and forceful policy with the advice of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has criticized self-isolation measures designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus, Reuters reported.

It’s become so troubling, that Facebook and Twitter, breaking with their policy of not interfering with free speech on social media recently deleted some of Bolsonaro’s posts because they spread disinformation that could harm people.

In one post, Bolsonaro claimed the drug hydroxychloroquine was an effective treatment for the virus, wrote Tech Crunch. President Trump has also touted the drug, which American officials have permitted doctors to prescribe even as they said they lack definitive proof that it works. In another, CNET explained, the Brazilian president questioned whether social distancing worked, contradicting global public health recommendations.

Bolsonaro has become the boss of the coronavirus-denial movement, wrote the Atlantic magazine. Describing the virus that has caused a worldwide crisis as a “little flu,” he’s organized rallies of his supporters. Brazilians, he claimed, “never catch anything” even when they dive into sewage. He thinks the pandemic is just media shenanigans. He also noted, “We’re all going to die one day,” the Associated Press reported. That last assertion is incontrovertible, of course.

The president is clearly worried about the economy tanking, destroying livelihoods and perhaps his political fortunes, too, Slate reported.

Postponing action might turn out to be catastrophic, however. Bolsonaro brought an infected aide to Florida to meet Trump, Foreign Policy magazine wrote.

Unlike Trump, though, many Brazilians, including those in slums, don’t have access to clean running water or proper medical attention. Brazil held its famous Carnival in late February, meaning the virus had an opportunity to circulate in a massive pool of revelers who then dispersed to different corners of the sprawling South American nation of just over 200 million. Outbreaks are starting to appear. On Tuesday, the country recorded more than 12,000 cases and 582 deaths.

In a Washington Post op-ed, University of Bath Anthropologist Rosana Pinheiro-Machado, a native of Brazil, noted that Brazilians have taken to banging pots and pans outside their windows in protest against Bolsonaro’s head-in-the-sand approach. She called for his impeachment.

Some say that is not mere fantasy anymore.

When it is gangsters taking control to ensure public safety, people should question why that is, say analysts. Brazil, which has seen years of turmoil, doesn’t necessarily need another political crisis. But if one is necessary to deal with the pandemic, it might be in order.

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