re: #125 FFL (GOP Delenda Est)

I wonder if the nut-right in Brazil might be secretly hoping that COVID-19 is going to go ripping through the poor parts of the Brazilian cities and kill a bunch of people.

They may well be hoping that, but the gangs that run the favelas have other ideas. They’re enforcing lockdown and social distancing.

According to well-sourced Rio newspaper Extra, City of God gangsters have been driving round the slum, blaring out a recorded message to residents.

“We’re imposing a curfew because nobody is taking this seriously,” the message said, according to Extra’s Tuesday story. “Whoever is in the street screwing around or going for a walk will receive a corrective and serve as an example. Better to stay home doing nothing. The message has been given.”

Reuters was unable to confirm the veracity of the recorded message, but City of God residents, who declined to give their names for fear of retribution, confirmed an evening curfew and other restrictions.

The gangs’ concern over the outbreak echoes fears nationwide about the fate of Brazil’s nearly 15 million favela residents confronting what some have dubbed “the disease of the rich.”

The coronavirus landed in the country with wealthier Brazilians returning from Europe, but is quickly migrating into poorer communities, where crowded quarters, informal labor and weak public services threaten to accelerate its spread.

It really says something when outright criminals have a better grasp of the seriousness of the situation than the goddamn elected president of the nation.