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Numbers of the week: Aug. 1, 2020

This is Brazil by the Numbers, a weekly digest of the most interesting figures tucked inside the latest news about Brazil. A selection of numbers that help explain what is going on in Brazil. This week’s topics: Brazil’s Covid-19 death toll, the new BRL 200 bill, anti-fascist movements under investigation, Brazil’s lack of transparency, over 1 million jobs slashed, Covid-19 takes over the President’s inner circle, unused coronavirus tests, the growth of credit lending, and coronavirus outbreaks among troops.

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2.6 million cases, 92,475 deaths

Marching on to 100,000 Covid-19 deaths, Brazil ended this week with a total of 92,475 deaths and 2.6 million confirmed cases. In President Jair Bolsonaro’s office, it was business as usual. This week, the president mocked a Chinese vaccine being tested in São Paulo and twice greeted crowds of supporters without wearing a mask.

Keep up to date with all Covid-19-related news in Brazil with our free Live Blog.


1.2 million jobs

According to Brazil’s General Register of Employed and Unemployed Persons (Caged), a total of 1.2 formal jobs were lost in the first half of 2020. This is the worst result for the period in the Economy Ministry’s historical series, which began in 2010. For means of comparison, in the first six months of 2019, the job balance was...

Lucas Berti

Lucas Berti covers international affairs — specialized in Latin American politics and markets. He has been published by Opera Mundi, Revista VIP, and The Intercept Brasil, among others.

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