• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
No Result
View All Result
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, the art and the Brazil's social and political history. He currently contributes to several Brazilian newspapers, magazines and websites. His first book, The Poet's Glasses, published in 2023, contains a selection of 50 chronicles. He can be found on Instagram @escritorlucianodecastro and on Twitter @Luciano06810812

Related Posts

Argentina celebrates after winning the 2024 Copa America tournament final football match against Colombia
Opinion

Copa America and Politics: Football as an Echo of South American Societies

by Jorge Knijnik
July 18, 2024
Jennifer O'Neill
Opinion

Jennifer, Do You Remember Ipanema?

by Luciano de Castro
April 16, 2024
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
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

Tens of thousands of protestors shut down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Saturday, April 5, 2025, protesting the Trump administration's abuse of the separation of federal powers as well as the deep cuts to governmental services overseen by presidential advisor Elon Musk.

Civil Society Is Holding the Line. Will Washington Notice?

June 17, 2025
An Iranian walking in front of a wall painting of the Iranian flag in Tehran

How Much Damage Has Israel Inflicted on Iran’s Nuclear Program?

June 16, 2025
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on November 19, 2017

Israel MPs to Vote on Opposition Bid to Dissolve Parliament

June 11, 2025
Two protesters wave Mexican flags while standing on a vandalized Waymo vehicle during a demonstration in Los Angeles, California, on June 8, 2025, following a series of aggressive federal immigration operations in the city.

Unrest in Los Angeles Over Immigration Raids as Troops Sent by Trump Fan Out

June 9, 2025
US President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on August 4, 2020. Photo: Drew Angerer/AFP.

US Steel, Aluminum Tariff Hikes to Take Effect Wednesday: W. House

June 4, 2025
textile workers in Kenya

Workers’ Rights in ‘Free Fall’ Globally: Report

June 2, 2025

Opinion

Tens of thousands of protestors shut down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Saturday, April 5, 2025, protesting the Trump administration's abuse of the separation of federal powers as well as the deep cuts to governmental services overseen by presidential advisor Elon Musk.

Civil Society Is Holding the Line. Will Washington Notice?

June 17, 2025
A Black Lives Matter mural in New York City.

Fuhgeddaboudit! America’s Erasure of History

April 2, 2025
Bust of Deputy Rubens Paiva in the Chamber of Deputies

Democratic Brazilians Are Still Here

March 18, 2025
A woman from Guatemala

Dispatch From Central America

January 28, 2025
US President Donald Trump

Dear Trump Supporters: Is This the America You Wanted?

January 28, 2025
Putin talks to Trump in Hamburg

From Roosevelt to Trump: The Complicated Legacy of Personal Diplomacy

November 15, 2024
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