Brazilian “Captain Corona” Jair Bolsonaro bets on virus rejection

In many cases, illness has plagued Brazilian leaders. In 1919, the Spanish flu killed the presidential election Francisco de Paulo Rodriguez Alves. Fernando Koror De Mello was impeached in 1992 after the country was hit by cholera. Dilmarcev had the same fate in 2016 in the midst of the Zika epidemic. Covid-19 is currently infected with President Jair Bolsonaro.

But unlike his predecessor-assuming that the controversial right-wing leaders will recover from the virus as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson did-Bolsonaro is political from a pandemic It may appear strongly.

Former Army Captain Announced At a news conference on Tuesday he responded positively, and took off his mask in a classic brave style, thumbs up to show that he wasn’t worried. “Just look at my face: I’m fine,” said 65.

Undoubtedly, no other president was so reckless in himself or in the country in Brazil’s recent democratic history.

“Not only did he not respect social distance when giving [press conference]He took this opportunity to repeat his negative view of the effectiveness of pandemics and hydroxychloroquine,” said risk consultant Mario Marconini. “He claimed that the drug had already taken effect overnight.”

Bolsonaro was elected with a landslide victory in 2018 after surviving an almost deadly stab by a country tired of corruption and leftist rule for almost 20 years. But, as critics call him, “Captain Corona” has Long denied the seriousness of a pandemic..

He calls the virus “the “olfaction” to face.”Damn like a man“But Brazil has 70,000 dead and more than 1.7 million infected, second only to the United States.”

Bolsonaro, like his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump, attended many gatherings without taking precautions and wore masks and blockades under the direction of a judge. Clashed Two Health Ministers have resigned him Receipt approach..

Still, Bolsonaro’s high stakes gambling may pay off. This tropical Trump, as he knows, can be Covid-19 if it suffers only mild symptoms. A little grip, Or a little flu.

The financial difficulties of the country can be transferred to political enemies who have sought measures to keep them away from society.

“Bolsonaro has demonstrated its power by depicting the image of a lone ranger fighting a corrupt system and overcoming adversity,” he said. Matthias Spector Fundação Getúlio Vargas think tank. “This is his current state in which he is trying to portray Covid-19 as a Messianic leader in God’s hands, not in science. It is sympathetic to many Brazilians.”

Bolsonaro has the virtue of being an outsider all the time. He was born into a modest family within the state of Sao Paulo in 1955, joined the army, was promoted to the rank of captain, first entered politics as a city council in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1980s, and then attended parliament. .. Brasilia.

He went politically unattended for many years, Identity politics He is still in pursuit.

Bolsonaro was married three times and was raised as a Catholic with five children, but was baptized four years ago by an evangelical minister in the Jordan River. Since taking office, he has been blaming “cultural Marxism”, “gender ideology” and “environmental psychology”.

“Jail Bolsonaro’s strong personality is driven in part by the fact that he has been one conservative in Congress for a long time,” said the U.S.’s former Trump aide, Steve Bannon. Gerald Brandt, a longtime friend of the financial company, says.

“He needed to develop a unique communication style that would draw attention. He created a persona that could overcome all the noise.”

Parliamentarian Maria de Rosario Nunez, who said Mr Bolsonaro was once unworthy of being raped, lamented how he continued this oppositional style as president. “He’s someone who has the genocide standard, as they say,” she says.

His honed approach risks jeopardizing the economic reforms he has chosen to pursue. Finance Minister Paulo Geddes It has pushed some steps forward, but the agenda is largely stagnant. Feud with a member of parliament..

His military career was equally confrontational. According to court records reviewed by the Financial Times, he was accused of “irregular behavior” after spending two weeks Military prison for disobedience In 1986.

Mr. Bolsonaro then once rode a horse to attend the rally, Support for protesters He wanted to close the Supreme Court and parliament and regain military control. He is now Investigation About allegations of peddling effect made by His former Minister of Justice..

Still, his approval rating remains around 30%. At that level, history suggests that he would be able to dodge his efforts to get him out of the office. The impeachment lawsuit against Collor de Melo and Rousseff only progressed when the rating dropped to about 10%. Covid-19 infections may also give Bolsonaro additional immunity.

“If he manages to heal and come out of the quarantine relatively unharmed, this episode will make him politically strong,” Marconini said.

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