• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Monday, February 6, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured

Bolsonarism, Necropolitics, and the Spores of Wickedness

Luciano de Castro by Luciano de Castro
10/26/21
in Featured, Opinion
razilian President Jair Bolsonaro delivers a speech

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro. Photo: Mauro Pimentel, AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

On a sunny Sunday in Copacabana, the iconic seaside avenue Avenida Atlantica witnessed a noisy motorcycle parade headed by the unmasked president of Brazil. The event brought together thousands of government supporters with the deliberate intention of displaying political strength.

At a time when Brazil had reached a frightful 450,000 COVID-19 deaths, that agglomeration of mostly unvaccinated people without masks was an assault on common sense and public health.

Bolsonarist Mindset

Some days earlier, Bolsonarists had rebelled against changing the name of a street. To pay homage to actor Paulo Gustavo, who had recently died from the virus, the Niterói City Hall, on the other side of Guanabara Bay opposite Copacabana, decided to change the name of Coronel Moreira César Street to Paulo Gustavo Street.

The colonel, who died in 1897, had become known as “the executioner.” Times are different now. The street name substitution was justifiable. Actor Paulo Gustavo, born and raised in Niterói, was loved throughout the country. But some citizens didn’t like it. What kind of sick mind would be irked by a simple posthumous homage?

The bolsonarist mindset.

The state was subliminally discrediting the memory of a soldier to treasure the memory of an openly gay artist. In addition, before falling ill, Paulo Gustavo repeatedly complained about the lack of vaccines in Brazil. On his death, thousands of fans and friends reiterated that vaccination would have saved the harlequin who made Brazil laugh.

Now, complaining about the lack of vaccines is criticizing the government. And a gay artist who criticizes the government does not deserve homage: this is the logic.

Bolsonaro’s Brazil

A Benito Mussolini-type motorcycle parade and intolerance are examples of fascist actions that multiplied with the election of Jair Bolsonaro.

During the 2018 election campaign, bolsonarist candidates destroyed a street sign in Rio de Janeiro honoring the murdered leftist councilor Marielle Franco, while a production company headquarters was attacked with Molotov cocktails as a protest against its production of a controversial video.

Political dichotomy and fierce proselytism intensified as the pandemic took hold. The president referred to this global plague as “a little flu,” assumed an antisocial distancing stance, scorned vaccines, and actively promoted miraculous remedies.

Brazil became Latin America’s virus epicenter. Photo: Carl de Souza/AFP

To show support, his faithful government phalanges gathered in marches carrying Styrofoam coffins, burned face masks, cursed vaccines, and became infatuated with chloroquine.

This disastrous policy led Brazil to daily counts of more than 2,000 deaths from COVID. Recent studies estimate that Brazil will have reached 1 million deaths by September. For bolsonarism, all of that is normal.

Disrespect for the Death

Another disturbing aspect: the greater proportion of Brazilian indigenous dying, either infected by the coronavirus or murdered by gold miners.

If the indigenous extermination, irresponsible agglomerations, coffins on the streets, and protests against the memory of the dead are taken together what do they have in common? La muerte.

In the name of blind fanaticism, these are all attitudes which practice, trivialize, or disrespect death. That is the face of necro-politics.

Disrespect for the dead has reached such a monstrous level that bolsonarists celebrated the death of a seven-year-old just because this little boy was the grandson of their president’s greatest political opponent.

Aerial picture showing gravediggers burying an alleged COVID-19 victim at the Vila Formosa Cemetery, in the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo: Nelson Almeida/AFP

Awoken Dormant Spores

With this wave of fascism flourishing everywhere, I started to wonder: who are these despicable fellow countrymen? Where were they before bolsonarism? And where do they live now? What do they eat? How do they reproduce?

To answer these questions, I came up with the concept of a spore. In biology, spores are reproductive forms of plants, fungi, and algae. They function like more resistant seeds, which can lie dormant for long periods until a favorable environment for germination appears.

The fascist behaviors witnessed today are spores that lived and incubated Brazilian minds of all social classes for several decades. The Bolsonaro government gave them the ideal soil to germinate and grow.

Bolsonarism is an undesirable trait that has always existed in the Brazilian character. Today’s fascists are the products of a proslavery, patriarchal, conservative, moralistic, sexist, prejudiced, and racist society. That is no exaggeration.

There is a part of Brazil (fortunately, a minority) which, in either a veiled or ostentatious way, worships all these adjectives.

Although it must be considered that there are different degrees of bolsonarism, it is sad to see that many of these abominable compatriots are people we meet, who have always lived among us, who eat rice and beans and who, unfortunately, reproduce normally – and so will transmit their spores of wickedness to generations to come.

I predict that the days of the Bolsonaro government are numbered, but bolsonarism will live on, embedded in spores capable of remaining dormant until a bad wind awakens them once again.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The Globe Post.
ShareTweet
Luciano de Castro

Luciano de Castro

Professor at the Federal University of Goiás-Brazil. In addition to teaching activities at the School of Dentistry, Prof. Castro dedicates himself to music and literature as a composer, chronicler, short story writer, and poet. He is interested in science, arts, and the social and political history of Brazil. As a nature lover, he has a special interest in plants and birds. He currently contributes to Brazilian magazines while preparing his first book. He can be found on Instagram @lucianodecastro2 and on Twitter @Luciano06810812

Related Posts

Supporters of Brazilian former President Jair Bolsonaro clash with the police during a demonstration
World

Brazil Patrols Government Buildings Retaken From Rioting Bolsonaro Supporters

by Staff Writer
January 9, 2023
Dom Phillips
Media Freedom

British Journalist, Indigenous Expert Missing in Brazil Following Threats

by Staff Writer
June 6, 2022
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro
Opinion

The Murder of Art in Brazil

by Luciano de Castro
November 5, 2021
Covid-19 in Brazil
Featured

No Pandemic End in Sight With Raging Outbreaks in India, Brazil

by Staff Writer
May 1, 2021
Conversion therapy has affected hundreds of thousands of individuals in the US.
World

More Than 300 Religious Leaders Urge Ban on ‘Conversion Therapy’

by Staff Writer
December 16, 2020
Carrefour
World

Brazilians Outraged Over Death of Black Man Beaten by Carrefour Security

by Staff Writer
November 20, 2020
Next Post
South Africa vaccine

Thousands March to Demand Vaccine Jabs in South Africa

Derek Chauvin

Chauvin Sentenced to Over 22 Years for George Floyd Murder

Recommended

Syrian rescuers and civilians search for victims and survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building, in the rebel-held northern countryside of Syria's Idlib province on the border with Turkey, early on February 6, 2023. Syrian rescuers (White Helmets) and civilians search for victims and survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building

Quake Kills Over 1,200 Across Turkey, Syria

February 6, 2023
Protesters rally against the fatal police assault of Tyre Nichols, outside of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit, Michigan, on January 27, 2023

How Do Violent ‘Monsters’ Take Root?

February 3, 2023
A supporter of nurses' strike and NHS holds a placard

UK Faces Fresh Mass Strikes as Wage Talks Derail

February 1, 2023
Israeli security forces in Jerusalem

Palestinian Gunman Kills 7 in East Jerusalem Synagogue Attack

January 30, 2023
The Doomsday Clock reads 100 seconds to midnight, a decision made by The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, during an announcement at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on January 23, 2020

‘Doomsday Clock’ Moves Closest Ever to Midnight

January 25, 2023
Police work near the scene of a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California

California Lunar New Year Mass Shooter Dead, Motive Unclear: Police

January 23, 2023

Opinion

Protesters rally against the fatal police assault of Tyre Nichols, outside of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit, Michigan, on January 27, 2023

How Do Violent ‘Monsters’ Take Root?

February 3, 2023
George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York

George Santos for Speaker!

January 16, 2023
Commuters waiting for buses in Metro Manila. Philippines

Eight Billion and Counting…

November 29, 2022
Mahsa Amini protests

Imagining a Free Iran

October 24, 2022
Vladimir Putin

How 18th Century International Law Clarifies the Situation in Ukraine

September 29, 2022
Vladimir Putin

Falling for Putin

September 15, 2022
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post