Brazil isn't just known for having the most cases in South America. President Bolsonaro has also drawn criticism due to his approach to the virus. The Guardian had this to say:
Bolsonaro is one of just four world leaders still downplaying the threat of coronavirus to public health, alongside the authoritarian presidents of Nicaragua, Belarus and Turkmenistan.
Over Easter, Brazil’s far-right leader repeatedly sniffed at his own health ministry’s distancing recommendations by going out for doughnuts, glad-handing fans and proclaiming: “No one will hinder my right to come and go.”
For some reason, no one ever puts Sweden into this category. I suppose Sweden is sort of in the middle where they admit COVID-19 is an issue, but are placing minimal restrictions in place.
Though the president isn't showing much concern, governors are showing concern:
Since mid-March, the governors of nearly all of Brazil’s 27 states have been trying to slow transmission by ordering citizens indoors. But there are signs that such efforts are fraying, with a growing number of people stepping out on to the streets of cities such as Rio and São Paulo.
The experts point to several possible explanations for falling adherence to social distancing in Brazil. One was the failure of state governments to sufficiently support poor favela residents who had no option but to work. Another was the difficulty in persuading exuberant, family-focused Brazilians to shun relatives.
As what is probably a theme throughout the developing world, the poor have to work. I think you see that also in the United States via grocery store, Instacart, restaurants, etc type of jobs where employees are striking for higher wages. You also see that in images of lines of cars waiting at food banks. If you don't have much of a safety net, you have to work.
Al Jazeera looks at the poor in Brazil with a story about the favelas:
Fears are especially high in the Rio de Janeiro crowded favelas, where roughly one-fifth of the city's population live.
Residents worry the favelas, which already lack running water, sanitation and access to healthcare, will not be able to cope with the pandemic.
. . . Cases have been reported in at least 11 informal settlements, including in three of Rio de Janeiro's largest favelas, heightening fears that the virus will catch like wildfire in these vulnerable, overcrowded communities.
. . . Many are employed in the informal labour market as street vendors, delivery drivers or domestic workers. For them, staying at home is unrealistic, said Vidya Diwaker, a senior research officer in the Overseas Development Institute's Chronic Poverty Advisory Network.
In an interesting note from, Reuters, the government is working with local gangs to help control the spread of the virus in the favelas:
On Wednesday, Brazilian Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta said he would talk with the gangsters who act as the slums’ de facto rulers about how to best tackle the virus.
Individuals in the favelas aren't the only ones at risk in Brazil.
BBC writes:
"There is an incredible risk of the virus spreading across the native communities and wiping them out," says Dr Sofia Mendonça, a researcher at the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) . . . In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, she adds, some communities are planning to split into smaller groups and seek refuge inside the forest. That is how they avoided extinction during past epidemics.
It really looks like the poor and native populations are taking this virus far more serious than their own president.
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