Brazil, the most populous nation in South America, followed its North American counterpart on 24 March 2021 in becoming the second country in the world, after the US on 14 December 2020, to cross the 300,000 mark for Covid-19-related deaths. This outcome, most unfortunate though it may be, is not entirely unsurprising, given the similar way in which President Jair Bolsonaro, the so-called “Trump of the Tropics”, and his mentor, ex-US President Donald Trump, chose to first respond to the new virus. Brazil is now the latest global epicentre of the pandemic, with more than 12 million people testing positive for Covid-19 to date. But even a steadily rising death toll from the virus did not dampen the enthusiasm of Bolsonaro’s supporters as they gathered in front of the presidential palace in Brasilia on 21 March to celebrate their hero’s 66th birthday.
Jair Bolsonaro took over as President of the world’s fifth largest country on New Year’s Day 2019, joining the growing ranks of right-wing populist political leaders taking charge across the planet. The former reserve army captain and seven-term member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1991 to 2018 received 55 per cent of the vote in the October 2018 presidential election. His victory was enabled by the forced withdrawal of former socialist President Luiz Lula da Silva late in the campaign. He also benefited from a sympathy vote after being stabbed during a campaign rally in Minas Gerais state in October 2018, following which he required emergency abdominal surgery and a temporary colostomy. Bolsonaro came into office with noble intentions, vowing to root out corruption, tackle growing crime and to revive a flagging economy with high unemployment.
President Bolsonaro was on the way to transforming Brazil into a capitalist state, guided by the principles of free-market economics, when tragedy struck. The Covid-19 pandemic caught him unprepared and found him unwilling to tackle the coronavirus head-on as circumstances demanded. From an early stage, Bolsonaro assumed an increasingly macho posture in dealing with the new virus. He likened Covid-19 to “a little flu” or “a bit of a cold”, distanced himself from his own public health officials, criticised media coverage as “hysteria”, prematurely claimed “this matter of the virus appears to be going away”, and fervently opposed lockdown in the firm belief that the “economy” came first. In late March 2020, Bolsonaro even launched hashtag Brazil Cannot Stop, a national campaign encouraging a return to work. A federal judge had to ban the campaign, as it undermined decisions by several state governors to impose lockdown measures.
Bolsonaro engaged in open warfare with health officials. Dr Luiz Henrique Mandetta became the first of three successive health ministers to fall victim to Bolsonaro’s wrath when he was dismissed on 16 April 2020. Bolsonaro advised Brazilians to ignore stay-at-home orders and social distancing, criticised the use of masks, and then amplified his message by setting a personal example. He made a number of deliberately provocative public appearances which made it seem like there was no crisis at all. His large fan base, which currently amounts to a third of the country’s population, duly obliged. In so doing, he found himself at loggerheads with state governors, city mayors and regional administrations. He looked the other way as hospitals struggled to cope with rising admissions, intensive care units rapidly filled up, oxygen supplies dwindled, bodies began to pile up in overflowing morgues, and the death rate soon overtook that in the rest of the world, with the sole exception of America. Covid-19 also showed up the socioeconomic disparities within Brazil, as the favelas of the overcrowded cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo and the indigenous tribes of the massive state of Amazonas bore the brunt of the pandemic.
Despite all his bravado, Bolsonaro did not escape Covid-19 himself. He tested positive for the virus on 6 July and chose to be treated with a combination of hydroxychloroquine, a drug he has championed in spite of evidence to the contrary, and azithromycin. Bolsonaro has since taken on a scientific role, as he peddles a “Covid kit”-a cocktail of unproven drugs including azithromycin, hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. While he engages in pseudo-scientific activity, there are significant shortcomings where it really matters, such as with vaccine procurement and rollout.
Bolsonaro’s response to Covid-19 is yet another example of why things have not gone smoothly during the pandemic. Instead of casting aside political and ideological differences and coming together to engage in constructive dialogue with public health officials and economic advisers, what we have witnessed instead is an increasing politicisation of the virus and a widening gap between already deeply divided politicians of different persuasions. The only lesson we can possibly take home from all of this is that when it comes to dealing with a grave crisis, “united we stand, divided we fall”.
Ashis Banerjee