When international headlines mention Brazil and the coronavirus, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro — who is against lockdowns because he understands that the population needs to work to survive — is blamed for the high number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the country.
For example, and April 23 article at the left-wing website Conversation carried the headline: “How Jair Bolsonaro created a calamity.”
Such reports oversimplify a complex situation.
First, Brazil is an overwhelmingly poor country. To impose a lockdown on such a population, forbidding it from working, is to condemn it to hunger. People who do not have adequate food and nutrition become vulnerable to many diseases, including, ironically, coronavirus.
Second, in the State of São Paulo, the governor, João Doria, is a Bolsonaro opponent. Because of this, the coronavirus policies in São Paulo have been contrary to Bolsonaro’s policies. For example, if Bolsonaro does not want a lockdown, Doria wants it. In São Paulo, Doria’s policy is applied, not Bolsonaro’s. The result? The State of São Paulo has, by far, the highest number of coronavirus cases, and deaths, in Brazil.
According to the Statistica website, “As of April 25, 2021, Brazil was the country with the highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Latin America, surpassing the 14.3 million mark. By state, São Paulo ranked first, with over 2.8 million cases.”
The Brazilian state of Minas Gerais comes in second, with 1.3 million cases. Therefore, São Paulo is far surpassing any Brazilian state in coronavirus cases. Even so, to divert attention from the failure of his various lockdowns, Governor Doria accuses Bolsonaro of genocide.
The truth is that early in the epidemic in 2020, Bolsonaro decreed a national emergency in Brazil. But Doria, so as not to interfere with Brazil’s popular Carnival celebration that brings millions of revelers, rejected the national emergency and let Carnival continue. The wild party turned into tragedy.
Without knowing this information, or perhaps ignoring it, the international press blames Bolsonaro and covers up Doria and his guilt.
Another fact not shown in the international media is that throughout the pandemic under Doria, Christian churches were forced to remain closed, or open only for a very small number of people. In contrast, buses, trains and subways are always crowded.
For some strange reason, Doria believes that uncrowded churches transmit more COVID-19 than crowded buses, trains, and subways do.
Bolsonaro considers churches an essential service, opposing their closing.
The same big press blaming Bolsonaro for the pandemic excuses communist China. And this is a scandal for China: The virus was developed and leaked from a laboratory in Communist China with links to the People’s Liberation Army. Many have even suggested that the pandemic was planned, or that the virus was designed as a biological weapon.
Perhaps the hesitance to transform the Chinese virus scandal into international headlines is because the Chinese laboratory received funds from and European governments, and also from the U.S. government. This is another great scandal.
You can understand why China hides everything about the pandemic. But what reasons do the United States and Europe have to hide their links to the Chinese laboratory that produced the virus?
If someone deserves to be called genocidal because of the pandemic, it is not Bolsonaro but Communist China.
Now, China’s Western friends defend lockdowns to contain the Chinese virus — lockdowns lasting weeks, months, and, perhaps, years.
People could endure such lockdowns if they had enough food and other survival items. Doria, for example, can impose lockdowns for as long as he wants: He has abundant food at his table and does not have to worry about taxes and house rent. But the population in his state has all these concerns.
But when he imposes his lockdowns, Doria does not eliminate taxes. If a government official is going to force citizens to stay at home and not work, he should at least suspend taxes and supply the people with food and other needs. To not support a population in house arrest is a crime, even genocide.
Most likely, COVID-19 is killing more in São Paulo because a poor population forbidden to work has no money to eat healthily. A malnourished and weak population is the perfect victim for any disease. What chance does a weak population have against a pandemic? This is what is happening in São Paulo.
The media, which applaud Doria’s lockdowns, does not reveal the effects of malnutrition in a poor population locked at home without food.
Accusing Bolsonaro of genocide is pure slander. Genocide is leaking laboratory virus. Communist China did this. Genocide is forcing people to stay indoors without money and no food. Governor Doria is doing this. Not Bolsonaro.
