Gilson Machado, chair of the Brazilian tourism board Embratur, shared a video consisting of President Jair Bolsonaro’s head photoshopped onto the head of a Ghanaian pallbearer dancing with a casket, made famous by the so-called ‘coffin dancers’ meme. The popular internet joke involves using footage of a funeral in Ghana reported by BBC News Africa in 2017, and using the clip as a punchline for videos of people falling over, or having other misfortunes, making the use of the meme by Embratur even more confusing.
On Sunday, supporters of President Bolsonaro staged a fake “coffin dance” on Avenida Paulista, mocking the fatal victims of the disease and cursing São Paulo Governor João Doria.
Embratur under Bolsonaro
Since Mr. Bolsonaro took office, Embratur has been at the receiving end of harsh criticism for failed attempts to promote tourism in Brazil. The list includes designating former footballer Ronaldinho Gaucho as a tourism ambassador, despite having had his passport seized for unpaid environmental fines. In 2019, Embratur announced its new motto “Brazil: visit and love us,” a poorly translated phrase filled with sexual innuendo. For Mr. Machado, there would only be a problem only if the motto were “Visit and f*** us.”
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