Explaining Brazil #127: When protection becomes repression

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Latin American countries have shown us both sides of an ugly coin. Some have been called out for not enacting social distancing rules during the pandemic. Others, for using them as a means of repression against specific populations.

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On this episode:

• Louise Tillotson is an Amnesty International researcher for the Caribbean. Prior to joining Amnesty International, Ms. Tillotson worked across the Caribbean developing human rights-based responses to HIV and AIDS.

Background reading:

• Read Amnesty International’s report “When protection becomes repression.”
• The government in El Salvador has used Covid-19 as a cover for ramping up its violent anti-gang policies and authoritarian politics.
• In Venezuela, the increasingly authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro labeled citizens who are returning to the country after seeking refuge abroad “bioterrorists,” and ordered their confinement in roughly 105 state-run quarantine facilities.
• Brazilian indigenous communities at risk of “genocide” with Covid-19 outbreak.
• Nicaragua’s authoritarian government turns a blind eye to the pandemic.

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