Bolsonarist Troops Work Social Media to Shield Government from Blame for Virus

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Comprising allied deputies and other Bolsonarist supporters, the shock troops surrounding the President on social media decided to shield him from blame for the shortcomings in containing the Covid-19.

With the phased relaxation of quarantine in the states, the pandemic figures were impacted, and some states and municipalities again broke daily records of confirmed cases. Last Saturday, August 8th, the country surpassed 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus.

A fact that has been common throughout the pandemic, the war of narratives between Jair Bolsonaro and governors, particularly those who stand in opposition to the President in the national political chess game, has been stirring up social media. Supporters of “root Bolsonarism” have taken to the frontline in the government’s defense.

The argument most commonly used by the claque is that the President’s opponents, like the governor of São Paulo João Doria, are trying to politicize the pandemic in search of an electoral projection for 2022, the year in which Bolsonaro will seek reelection.

Marco Feliciano, the government’s vice-leader in Congress, said that what appears to be the government’s defense are in fact voluntary demonstrations.

“I echo what the people feel, that is, an immense desire to publicize the government’s sound measures that are omitted by mainstream media. I have millions of followers on social media waiting for my demonstrations, knowing that, as a Christian, I advocate a government in tune with such principles,” he said.

He said the government has used billions and all of its staff from the Ministry of Health and Armed Forces logistics to fight the pandemic.

“When biased and fake news tries to destabilize a majority-elected government, rebuttal is not even required, it fails on its own,” he said.

Bolsonarist deputy Carla Zambelli wrote on Facebook that the President’s opponents “dare to use the deaths of our fellow citizens to try to hold Bolsonaro accountable.”

“They pretend not to see all this work. They pretend not to see facts. Do they really think the people are this gullible?” she questioned in a post in which she lists the actions of the federal government during the pandemic.

Pastor Silas Malafaia, a former ally of Bolsonaro, also used his influence and reach on social media to support the ruler after the country passed the 100,000 deaths milestone. The religious leader attacked the press and implied that the President was a victim of the media.

In Malafaia’s perspective, the federal government has taken all the required actions, but TV networks are actually to be blamed for the uncontrolled spread of the virus.

The Minister of Women, Family, and Human Rights, Damares Alves, endorsed the narrative that the Brazilian government had done everything in its power to fight Covid-19. She also used the same argumentative tactic: shifting responsibility to the press.

“What many channels have not reported is that we are the country that has recuperated the most people and, we are among those that have invested the most in aid (R$600 – US$120), basic food baskets in much of the country distributed to our population, in addition to several Provisional Measures (decrees by the President) to prevent tax collections in times of pandemic,” she wrote on Facebook.

Report

After Brazil passed 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus, the government submitted a report to legislators in which it mentions governors and mayors of locations with the highest number of new deaths and recent cases of the disease.

In the document, Bolsonaro seeks to evade criticism for his handling of the policy to tackle the pandemic.

Signed by a subfolder of the Government Secretariat, a body directly linked to the Planalto Palace structure, the report lists the five governors of states with the highest number of deaths and new cases. The list of mayors is based only on the number of diagnoses of the disease.

Governor Doria tops the lists of case numbers and deaths. São Paulo has passed 600,000 infections and 25,000 deaths. Four other governors are mentioned: Eduardo Leite from Rio Grande do Sul, Rui Costa from Bahia, Romeu Zema from Minas Gerais, and Carlos Moisés from Santa Catarina.

Source: UOL