Bolsonaro turns to his far-right backers for help

BRAZILIAN president Jair Bolsonaro has been mobilising far-right supporters to help ensure his political survival as the coronavirus claims tens of thousands of lives in the South American country.

With less than one-third of Brazilians approving of Bolsonaro’s handling of the pandemic, and protests against him increasing, analysts say he is shoring up his base to shield himself from possible impeachment.

“He’s losing support and needs something to put in its place,” said Mauricio Santoro, a professor of political science at the State University of Rio de Janeiro.

“Bolsonaro needs people on the street defending him.”

Casting doubt on Covid-19 statistics has been a mainstay in far-right circles and Bolsonaro has amplified such claims.

So far the disease has killed more than 36,000 Brazilians, although such information is now unavailable on the Brazilian Health Ministry’s website. It stopped publishing cumulative totals last

Friday, the day after Brazil surpassed Italy to register the world’s third-highest death toll.

After a backlash, a senior Health Ministry official told reporters on Monday that the cumulative death toll would be restored to its website, but with changes to how daily deaths are tallied.

Critics complained the move to not report the death toll resembled tactics used by authoritarian regimes.

Protests against Bolsonaro’s government were held in 20 cities last weekend. However, he still enjoys considerable support on the far right. “What’s making Bolsonaro get more radical is the pandemic,” said Adriana Dias, a researcher on far-right groups at University of Campinas.