Once a denialist, Bolsonaro now uses Covid to cancel Carnival

Ever since the pandemic started, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has defied scientific consensus on almost every major issue, including the efficacy of chloroquine, mask use, and vaccines. But no single pandemic-related matter is as important to Mr. Bolsonaro as his opposition to social distancing and lockdowns. He claimed stay-home orders would create a hunger epidemic and even took state governments to the Supreme Court to lift lockdown measures.

So, when the president and his allies argue that the country should cancel its 2022 Carnival celebrations using Covid transmission risks as an excuse, it certainly sounds a bit rich. “If it were up to me, there would be no Carnival,” he told a local radio station last week. “But that’s a decision for governors and mayors, so says the Supreme Court.”

After the president set the tone, his supporters began mobilizing on social media to demand authorities cancel Carnival on coronavirus grounds — after spending almost two years bashing social distancing restrictions.

No Sex Please, We’re Brazilian

But Mr. Bolsonaro’s recent jab on Carnival should not come as a surprise. It is actually part of a broader quest from conservative politicians against Brazil’s most popular festival — often characterized by transgressions which right-wing leaders deem too libertine. 

Former Rio de Janeiro Mayor Marcelo...