As the Covid-19 pandemic started to become a matter of great concern in Brazil, video declarations and WhatsApp audio leaks revealed wealthy personalities and businessmen’s shared lack of concern for human lives. These viral clips have acted as a backdrop for an apparently organized movement of entrepreneurs and members of Brazil’s economic and political elite to reduce economic losses wherever possible. The cost is being measured in thousands of lives.

‘We can’t [stop] because 5 or 7,000 people are going to die,’ said Junior Durski in his widely shared 23 March Instagram video. The Madero restaurant chain owner has been a vocal critic of measures to restrict movement and close businesses across the country. His video echoes the arguments of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who not only joked about the epidemic before it hit the country, but has also persistently sabotaged initiatives by governors to contain it.

Full article at RedPepper’s website. Date of publication: 23/06/2020.