How are things going in Brazil?
I’m asked this question a lot at the moment, always with concern in the voice. Hardly surprising really when you look at the headlines (recent examples: “We are facing extermination”, “Brazil tops 50,000 deaths”). So the short answer is “Not great”.
Covid infections are growing at an alarming rate, graveyards are overflowing in the larger cities, and a lot of people have lost their jobs. Add to that all the other knock-on effects such as increases in domestic violence, depression, anxiety and loneliness brought on by social isolation, and you have a grim picture.
A kite flying over the favelas of Rio’s Zona Norte.
But in a surreal way, life goes on. I don’t want to diminish the massive impact the virus has brought to many, especially to those less privileged than me (I’m not in an ‘at risk’ group and I have the luxury of being able to stay at home for the time being). But sometimes it seems that people are expecting horror stories about how half my friends have died or how there are bodies in the street.
My personal experience has been more mundane: boredom, coupled with sadness (and at times, mild despair) that my food tour business, which I built up over 7 years, is out of action for the foreseeable future. Oh, and you can throw in some financial worries as I haven’t earned anything since March.
The mood I detect on the streets is that people are just done with lock-down. Shops and informal corner bars which were deserted a couple of months ago are starting to fill out again. I’ve been shocked at how the street markets are actively bustling now:
The Tuesday street market in Catete was absolutely packed when I passed by this week.
Why aren’t people socially isolating?
Although plenty of people are socially isolating (and have been for a long time), I’ve been startled by the volume of people who don’t seem to be going for it. Although it’s easy to judge (and how people love to judge – frankly I’m tired of the morally superior, social media outrage, which generally boils down to someone saying “Look at these stupid, selfish people!”), there are a bunch of reasons people aren’t observing strict lock-down, several of which go beyond a simplistic “people are idiots” explanation:
- Some people don’t have the option of staying at home: Essential workers obviously top the list in terms of media coverage and plaudits. But there are a lot of informal workers here who don’t have the option to work from home or stay in and live off their savings (what savings?). As one favela resident explained, “Here we work in the morning to eat in the afternoon”. While a small state allowance has been granted (R$600/month I believe), this has not been received by all and simply isn’t enough for many to cover their monthly outgoings.
- Mental health: Social isolation affects people in different ways. Before jumping to condemnation and finger pointing (which is often nothing more than virtue signalling), consider people suffering depression, anxiety, abusive relationships and other conditions or situations that are exacerbated by staying inside for extended periods.
- Zero support for social isolation from the president: At the start, President Bolsonaro downplayed Covid-19 as a gripezinha (little flu). Later on, as the casualties mounted, his response shifted to shrugging off the deaths as mildly unfortunate but unavoidable: So what? What do you want me to do about it? It’s everyone’s destiny to die at some point. He was also a vocal supporter of hydroxychloroquine as a covid treatment (does any of this sound familiar?). When the country’s leader does not support social distancing, it’s clearly not going to get full traction.
- COVID-19 denial from the far right: Bolsonaro has encouraged large protests against congress and the supreme court (which coincidentally has been leading investigations into him and his super-shady politician sons). He has joined many of these protests, often without any face mask, and freely mixed with supporters. This has done nothing to dissuade the far-right from indulging in conspiracy theories, often suggesting Coronavirus is some kind of hoax.
- Lack of education and/or consideration for others: This obviously isn’t exclusive to Brazil – I’ve seen reports from all over the world of people flouting isolation rules/guidelines/laws. I guess we can all speculate on the reasons behind this. Perhaps people just haven’t grasped the concept, don’t believe (or don’t want to believe) in the concept, or simply don’t feel that the rules should apply to them.
- Lock-down fatigue: I don’t have any hard evidence for this, but on an anecdotal level I get the impression increasing numbers of people who were isolating back in March and April are getting impatient with the ongoing restrictions. In line with this, restrictions on bars and restaurants were lifted in early July. Tragically, this happened as the rates of infection were still rising rapidly. As one Brazilian epidemiologist recently commented, it’s like we’re challenging the virus to do it’s worst.
Where is this all going?
Honestly, I find it hard to be optimistic at this point. It seems that, on many levels, things will get worse before they get better. But then the way the media seems to be going nowadays, you can find articles and evidence to support pretty much any opinion you happen to hold.
Well, that was depressing wasn’t it? If you feel that I’m being overly negative, I’d love to hear from you. Cheer me up with your alternative optimistic opinion! In any case, the next post will be positively cheery I promise! I’ll leave you with another shot of my new favourite view in Rio.
Quite a view, huh? If you look carefully you can make out Feira de São Cristóvão, Fiocruz, Teleférifo do Alemão and Basílica da Penha.
Great to hear from you Tom. I do miss Rio but I am quite pleased to be enduring this crisis out of Brazil. Stay safe, wash your hands and wear a mask. I am sure Rio tourism will be back again soon.
Hey Richard – how are things? But hang about – you’re in Texas aren’t you? I heard it’s getting pretty bad there as well isn’t it? I guess the fear I had over here (especially at the start when we didn’t really know how any of this would pan out) was that there could be a really scary breakdown in law and order. So far it hasn’t happened, though I guess that could come with a prolonged economic recession, which seems unavoidable. Fingers crossed for the world in general! All the best mate
Great read Tom – agree with you on nearly all of this, from a Sao Paulo perspective, where it is much the same. I am also with a fledgling business, part of which that involved visitors I was hoping to have opened in April, and right now, I don’t see when I can safely do this. The only two people I know of who have died from COVID19 have been in the UK and Mexico, although undeniably, the situation here is bad, and probably a lot worse than we know. Keep safe, and hoping things get back to the new-normal before too long.
Hi Alex! Great to hear from you – that’s a real bugger about the effect this has bad on your business. I’ve been picking up on the progress on Instagram and it looks so impressive – I’m sure it’ll be huge once the restrictions ease off. Please let me know as soon as you’re doing postal orders as I’ll be snapping up a couple of bottles (or cases, depending on my financial situation) quick-sharp :D
Powerful insight, Tom. Life in South Africa goes on in a similarly surreal way. I would imagine Brazil has the same innovative spirit… I’ve been in awe of food and tourism entrepreneurs here. So, keep your chin up and your belly/heart full of hope. I hope to Eat Rio one day!
Hi Andrea – thanks for your encouragement :) I’m brainstorming over here to keep busy while tourism/travel is shut down. More on that in the next post! Sending hugs to South Africa!
Thank you. That is very interesting.
People here in Scotland are also rebelling in small ways.
I am hoping to be in Rio again in Dec. If our trip is not cancelled i will def be i touch!!
Hi Debs! Would be amazing to see you in December – I’ll keep my fingers for that. The lock-down rebellions seem to be really going crazy over in the UK – I saw the reports of huge numbers going to be beach down on the English south coast… I really hope we can get this thing under control before too long.
Hi Tom, thank you very much for your testimony. I loved doing the tour with you. I love Rio too. So I was happy to have news from you. In Paris ( France), the shops have reopened, the restaurants too. After 3 months of lockdown, the government does what it takes to put the economy back on tracks. The media talk a lot about a second wave in the last quarter. Will see… hope things will improve in Brazil. Take care.
Claude! Hi, how are you? So nice to hear from a past food tour guest. Lots of happy memories :) I’ve been seeing some footage of the cafes in Paris – what I’d give to be able to have a day or two eating my way around Paris right now!
Thanks Tom. Interesting article and I get asked the same question from friends in Europe. I always explain that Brazil is a huge country and the situation varies immensely depending on where you are, just as it varies around Europe. I have a fair idea of what’s happening in my local area and I hear from friends in Rio. Beyond that I’m picking up bits of information from online news. To be honest, I have no idea what the situation is in Mato Grosso do Sul or Rio Grande do Norte. I’d have to Google it. Obviously the international media always talks about Rio. I’m also in the state of Rio, but in a rural area in the mountains. On the whole, people here have been calm about the situation and have got on with their daily life, and the municipality has been less strict about lockdown than Rio has. In provincial settlements, the public have been very good about wearing masks and social distancing. Obviously, being in the countryside, we’re freer to move around. Rio is close by, but it’s also a world away; and Brazil is so huge and diverse that it’s always hard to give a general overview of the country.
Hi Alex! Great to hear from you. You picked up on something that I’ve been guilty of since I started blogging back in 2011. I often take my observations of Rio and use them to generalise about the whole of Brazil, forgetting that things are usually completely different in rural areas and/or other regions. I would make a blanket statement about “Brazil” only to discover that actually it wasn’t like that in Salvador, Manaus or even Nova Friburgo… :-/
Here in Rio (actually I should be more specific and talk about my part of Rio: Santa Teresa) people have also been very good with the face masks. I’ve been mystified to hear that masks haven’t been adopted with anything like as much enthusiasm in the UK (again, just the impression I get from conversations with friends and family).
Spot-on assessment of the situation in Rio in my opinion.
I hope you get some income soon. I’m OK being retired as my pension is not affected other than going further with the Real falling against the Pound (and other currencies) but I know far too many people who are seriously struggling.
It seems to me that Rio is being opened up again far too soon from the virus point of view, but people need to survive so what can they do?
We can only hope.
One area that is certainly booming though is food delivery. Cyclists and motorcyclists with insulated backpacks are everywhere so there is still money being made in the food industry. I’m doing my bit for Ferro e Farinha whose marvelous pizzas are still as good as when you first brought them to my attention way back when Sei was trading in the street with his mobile oven.
Keep up the blog.
Hi John – great to hear from you. Good to hear you’re holding up OK.
I hear what you’re saying about opening up again too soon, even though it feels like things have been shut down for aeons… But I have heard arguments that prolonged shutdown of the economy would/could lead to even worse effects on society overall. I suppose everyone’s guessing/estimating and trying to sift through the wildly divergent views being pushed out through the various media sources.
Great to hear that you’re using F&F’s delivery service – what a great success story that has been. It’s been great to have followed it from the outset :) Take care!
Your job will come back in full style. The pandemics can not last for ever!
Thanks Bruno – I’m waiting (fairly) patiently… ;)
Hi Tom. Thanks for posting. I am in the same situation in Cape Town with my food tours shut down since the end of March. Like you our numbers are still rising and it is hard to see when we will be able to resume our business. I am keeping busy by trying to promote all the food offerings that are happening in Cape Town. As Andrea mentions above there has been so many innovative businesses that have launched. Perhaps it is an idea for you for Rio? It is a great way to try and pull the foodie community together. I have a facebook group for sharing what people are doing and also for people to share what they are finding with each other and have done a website to try and show people what our city’s foodie options are – from people delivering fresh vegetable boxes to your door through to Chefs cooking meals and delivering them to your door…………..I think many businesses will grow and become permanent businesses from this. Here are the links:
Facebook group – join and come and stalk what I am doing: We would like to invite you to join the Cape Town Eats Facebook Group!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CapeTownEats/?ref=share
And my new website – http://www.capetowneats.com
Sending you a mega hug from Cape Town
Thank you for making me fall in love with your wonderful city! Your team rocked my stay!
Lots of love
Pamela
Cape Fusion Tours
Hi Pam!
Lovely to hear from you! It’s just so nuts to see entire industries like travel, tourism, bars/hospitality shut down globally. Just not something that I ever considered when I thought about possibly worst-case scenarios. There’s some comfort in knowing we’re all going through this together – I really hope that governments globally recognise how much these industries have contributed to their economies and give them the support they’ll need to get back up and running when the time comes.
The new site and Facebook group (just joined) are both really wonderful. Congratulations on all the hard work.
And it’s good to look at this as a possible opportunity. It reminds me a quote that I saw in an article a little while back from Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel: “Never allow a good crisis go to waste. It’s an opportunity to do the things you once thought were impossible.”
Good luck and hopefully see you on the other side!
Tom
Hi Tom, thanks for an interesting and informative blog. Sound information for people who ask us about Brazil and the best summary I’ve read of why social distancing breaks down. The factors are much the same here.
Catete market looks as busy as it was when we visited in November, though interesting to see that some people are wearing masks. Must be even less comfortable than it is in UK.
We are so glad we visited Brazil when we did!
Hi Judith – one thing I’m truly thankful for is that the weather has been spectacular since the lock-down started. If it had been anything like the weather during your visit I think the lock-down blues would have been far worse!
Bolsonaro said that covid-19 usually results in a minor cold (gripezinha) for those who are physically fit (hence he did not say this applies to the entirety of the population). In that same statement Bolsonaro recommends following basic sanitary guidelines. He also points out the enormous suffering which results in locking down the economy and proposes a balanced approach to governors and mayors – Brazilian legislation gives them the final word on the matter, not the president (useful info me thinks). Anyway, you should have provided the entirety of Bolsonaro’s statement instead of extracting a specific word to then put forth a narrative.
Bolsonaro also asked his supporters to cancel the march in support of his government (which had been organized before the covid-19). He then made the mistake, in my estimation, of briefly greeting the participants as they gathered in front of the Palácio do Planalto. He claims this is what a military culture demands, even if you disagree with your supporters. I don’t accept this and the same mistake was made by opposition leaders participating in marches against Bolsonaro’s government.
It is funny how you fail to mention such marches or to inform how they usually end up in an enormous ruckus with demonstrators destroying public and private property yet you have no qualms in labelling those marching in favor of Bolsonaro’s government as extremists. I guess covid-19 takes a day off when Antifa, black blocs and the rest of them take to the streets and burn everything down (it must be all the fire, smoke and destruction that turns the virus away).
Hi Gritty. I didn’t put in any direct quotes from Bolsonaro – was just paraphrasing what I have felt is the basic gist of the message he has been pushing to the media. I don’t think it’s an especially controversial opinion to feel that he has been majorly downplaying the serious of the virus and also has been infuriated that the state governors have been imposing social distancing measures.
I agree that mingling with supporters, especially without even a face mask, was not only bad on a practical level, but was also a massive failure in terms of setting an example to the population as a whole.
I would be extremely reluctant to join any kind of large group gathering right now, and I wouldn’t be encouraging them in general. However, I feel that protests against racially motivated police violence and discrimination/harassment are far closer to being justifiable than a political rally in favour of a sitting president.
Thank you for writing a very interesting blog. I hope life returns to some normality for you soon.
P.s am Sorrel’s mummy 💖
Oh hi Juanita! How nice to hear from you! :) Thanks so much for reading – I’m really happy you found it interesting. Hopefully I’ll have happier news soon.