Bolsonaro’s coronavirus infection is the latest subject of discord in Brazil. Investors twist the government’s arm on Amazon policies. Brazil’s public accounts woes. And the future for Latin American universities.
Bolsonaro’s coronavirus diagnosis becomes a cultural war
In a reality TV-like stunt, President Jair Bolsonaro announced on Tuesday he has contracted coronavirus. And used the opportunity to double down on every talking point he has used since the beginning of the pandemic: defending hydroxychloroquine as treatment (the efficacy of which remains unproven), criticizing social isolation measures, and passing the buck on to state governors who enforced them.
Unreachable compromise? The diagnosis is a testament to how divided Brazilian society is — and the unlikelihood of any sort of consensus between opposing groups.
- On one side, the president seems to be trying to make himself the poster boy for his own coronavirus message, putting himself forward as living proof that Covid-19 is nothing more than “catching a cold.”
- On the other hand, some of his detractors don’t even believe he has actually been infected, citing the scandal around his March test results as justification. Mr. Bolsonaro took three tests in March, all under aliases, and hid the results for two...