Brazilians defy pandemic and take to the streets in support and against Bolsonaro

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil, a country with more than 14.6 million confirmed cases and 403,000 deaths, did not prevent thousands of demonstrators from taking to the streets this Saturday, in the celebrations of International Labor Day, to support or protest against the government.

Most of the mobilizations, carried out with rallies and caravans, were in favor of the president, Jair Bolsonaro, one of the most skeptical leaders in the face of the seriousness of the pandemic and now the target of a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) installed this week in the Senate that aims to analyze complaints against the management of the crisis.

The central Paulista Avenue, the epicenter of great celebrations for the conquests and popular demonstrations, gathered hundreds of people with posters in defense of the right-wing leader, some calling for a military intervention headed by him against the Judicial and Legislative powers.

The access of vehicles to the iconic Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro was prevented by another group of sympathizers who gathered in the same place where two days before, non-governmental organizations and activists had paid homage to the more than 400,000 victims of covid-19.

In the Federal District of Brasilia, another 5,000 supporters of the ruler, according to the caravan organizers, mobilized through the streets of the administrative center known as Esplanada dos Ministerios.

In Recife, capital of Pernambuco and one of the main metropolis of the Northeast, Boa Viagem Avenue, which borders the beach of the same name, received a large number of cars, which, led by giant sound trucks, then moved to the Marco Zero, in the center of the city.

Other capitals, such as Belém, in the Amazon; Belo Horizonte (southeast), Natal and Salvador (northeast), registered concentrations, as well as large intermediate cities such as Campinas and Limeira in São Paulo, and Ipatinga (Minas Gerais), responding to the call “I authorize the president”.

The name of the marches, called for Labor Day, is interpreted as a response to “the signal” of his supporters that Bolsonaro asked in some speeches to “take action” in the face of the political war. However, the government always refrained from giving details and avoids commenting on that situation.

Bolsonaro flew over the caravan held in the Brazilian capital in a military helicopter, without, however, greeting his supporters as he has done in recent demonstrations.

ACTIONS AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT

As is traditional every year, although in smaller numbers due to the restrictions imposed in several regions to avoid containing the advance of the coronavirus, the trade unions called for different mobilizations to celebrate May 1st and, incidentally, to protest against the Executive branch.

São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, and Salvador held events in which social movements raised their voices against the lack of vaccines which has been delaying the schedule of the National Immunization Plan (PNI).

In Salvador, for example, the tourist site Farol de Barra was surrounded by crosses in homage to the victims of Covid-19. At the same time, in the city center, trade unionists carried black mortuary bags to remember the dead of the pandemic.

“Bolsonaro genocidal”, “Bolsonaro out”, “Impeachment now”, “Vaccine now,” and requests to break the patents of immunizers that are in the hands of private pharmaceutical companies were some of the slogans on the demonstrators’ posters.