States of emergency are golden opportunities for the powerful. The suspension of the status quo is at once a supreme demonstration of a government’s sovereignty and a pretext to pursue new agendas with relative impunity. That’s why political theorists like Hannah Arendt, Giorgio Agamben and Carl Schmitt predicted that states would grow addicted to the state of emergency as a tool, expecting their use to become more frequent and expansive.
That’s also why the current shitshow taking place in Brazil is so captivating — and tragic. It’s an example of the state of emergency doctrine on crack. Suspension of normal order because of the coronavirus was forced upon Jair Bolsonaro’s populist Government from below; that Government responded with a scattershot of attempts to sometimes exploit, sometimes undermine protective measures. Meanwhile there have been conspiratorial murmurings, a scepticism of expertise rare even among anti-establishment populists, and a skyrocketing Covid-19 death toll, making Brazil one of the hardest hit countries worldwide. Rather than a display of power, the crisis is exposing a Government gripped by paranoia.
Granted, Bolsonaro had reason to fear even before the arrival of Covid in late February. Brazil appeared then to be heading into economic recession. In addition, on 14 March, Brazil’s Supreme Court initiated criminal investigations into networks allegedly promoting “fake news” and which were credited with assisting Bolsonaro’s election. Court-ordered police raids and inquiries targeted the President’s high-level supporters, including family members.
The President and his ministers responded by suggesting that police disregard orders from the judiciary, setting the stage for a constitutional showdown. Bolsonaro’s efforts to instal loyal police chiefs amid the turmoil led to the resignation of his popular minister of justice and the creation of a new investigation into his possible judicial obstruction and interference.
But this whirlwind of political woes is only part of the reason for the President’s erratic response to the pandemic. First came a short-lived alarmist response channelling his law-and-order instincts; then, an attempt to downplay the need for lockdowns while prioritising economic concerns; then yet another stance, born of his penchant for conspiracy and rejection of scientific expertise.
His opening moves came in early February, when he showed reluctance — citing logistical and health-related concerns — to repatriate Brazilians located in the epicentre of the outbreak in Hubei province, China. Any notion that this signalled a cautious approach disappeared in early March, when he described the threat posed by the virus a media “fantasy”. Days later, on 15 March, striking a more measured tone while questioning lockdown measures, he said that “the virus could turn into a fairly serious issue, but the economy has to function”. Then, following the first deaths, on 19 March, his Government strengthened all land borders and instituted restrictions for foreigners entering on international flights. Around this time, and against the wishes of his Health Minister, Bolsonaro began promoting the unproven drug hydroxychloroquine in public statements as a treatment for Covid-19.
In the absence of a national lockdown, state governors and mayors began instituting social distancing measures, notably in São Paulo on 24 March. A patchwork of lockdowns came to Brazil — driven from the bottom up. Bolsonaro condemned them as inflicting needless economic suffering on the country, even urging citizens to defy local decrees. On 16 April, with cases approaching 100,000, the economy contracting, and foreign investors fleeing, Bolsonaro fired his Minister of Health, Luiz Henrique Mandetta. By the end of the month, Brazil would have more confirmed cases than China.
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SubscribeHis other faults aside (not least because our knowledge of him is filtered through a hostile MSM), Bolsonaro looks like being one of the world\s cleverer leaders. He realised that the death-toll arising from not crashing Brasil’s economy would be a lot less than the longer term losses involved in paupering his country like so many others have.
Having a Supreme Court abusing its power to try to overthrow a democratically elected president is something not even Donald Trump has had to endure. For the sake of the Brazilian people I hope that Bolsonaro is able to face down the coup attempts.
Bolsanaro am sure is no model politician but no politician could possibly rule a country as corrupt and volatile as Brasil. The above article, almost certainly from a left leaning perspective, (the author clearly has no truck with “populists”) tries to diminish Bolsanoro’s limited abilities to react to CV 19 without trashing an already fragile economy and throwing the country into even more misery and chaos.
The power hungry ‘elites’ as usual, with haughty endeavour, attempt to undermine practical reality with idealistic nonsense that they themselves given a sniff of power would not respect for a second. Like so many hypocritical malcontents elsewhere at the moment, constant activism and grievance mongering against legitimate governments rarely if ever delivers a positive result
Clearly a Lula/Dilma PT Party supporter. As here we have more biased propaganda from a liberal/leftist leaning trotskyist Journalist !! And we all know exactly what his endgame is ?? To discredit anyone who doesn’t agree with their twisted /distorted (Democratic/PT/Labour /Commie) viewpoint or narrative. Might I suggest Mr BENJAMIN TEITELBAUM should make it crystal clear from the outset, exactly where his political allegiances lie, so the readers can decipher what the true facts are, as opposed to listening to his political rantings and the left-leaning Political Bullshit that him and his fellow gutter-press hacks spout off !!
Benjamin Raphael Teitelbaum (born January 27, 1983) is an American ethnographer and political commentator. An Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of Colorado, Boulder and former Head of Nordic Studies at the same institution, he is best known for his ethnographic research into far-right groups in Scandinavia and commentary on immigration, and is frequently cited as an expert in Scandinavian and American media.[1][2][3][4][5][6]A political commentator, he has authored op-eds in the New York Times, Foreign Policy, Dagbladet, the Wall Street Journal, and the Atlantic.[8] His texts have also appeared in Newsweek, the National Review[9], CNSNews.com,[10] the BBC and the NPR.
https://blog.oup.com/2017/0…
[8] n.b. He claimed during an interview to sympathize with the Democratic Party.[11]
https://blog.oup.com/2017/0…
Thank you! A truth in advertising statement at the outset of any article would be welcome.
This is a fine example of a Bolsonaro supporter. Lacking facts, rational thinking or any arguments to prove the author wrong, he jumps into attacking the author’s identity. It’s not surprising, really. Bolsonaro was elected creating an enemy, since he had no plans, whatsoever, for Brazil (you know, besides arming everyone). The enemy is communism (yes, we’re back to Cold War), personified by the “Lula/Dilma PT Party”. I guess it’s really not surprising to Americans, since they have their own populist sitting in command. However, no matter how he positions himself and what enemies he creates, Bolsonaro will be held accountable by his catastrophic handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
I felt like I was reading a Brasilian Guardian – heaped with bias and bigotry.
Does not reflect my view of Brasil – nor my sons who lives there.
I don’t really know enough about Brazil and Bolsonaro to comment. But I do know that the murder rate in Brazil was off the charts in the years before he came to power. And that’s when people will turn to anything and anybody.
Unfortunately, Mr. Benjamin Teitelbaum is unaware of what is truly going on in Brazil. In addition, his lack of knowledge in the realm of Brazilian politics put him in a category to be even irresponsible when making statements and judging country-specific public policies out of his knowledge base. Dear Reader: I encourage you to read the following piece to understand what is happening in Brazil nowadays and the type of country President Bolsonaro inherited: https://doorbraak.be/franca…
Unfortunately, another dishonest writer. Mr. BENJAMIN TEITELBAUM is not aware of what is truly going on in Brazil. Certainly, he is politically-motivated (left wing) and does not care about the Brazilian people. The Brazil that he is describing is not the Brazil that we Brazilians live in. His statements are dishonest and lack critical and evidence-based analysis. If you want to read a SERIOUS piece about Brazil and President Bolsonaro, I encourage you to click on the following the link: https://doorbraak.be/franca…
What is the Brazil we live in? The description of Bolsonaro’s attitudes towards the pandemic was point on. It’s funny how you are fast to dismiss the author’s opinion because you assume he is left wing. You’re clearly right wing, should I disregard your opinion because you have a political stand? Next time try to analyze what’s been exposed rather than attacking the person exposing it. And please, when you say “we Brazilians”, be sure to clarify you mean the 1/3 of Brazil’s population who still buy Bolsonaro’s rhetoric filled with conspiracies and imaginary enemies.