Despite the increase in Covid-19 cases and its death toll in Brazil, the political scenario gains space in the debate
The number of victims has forced more strict measures of social distancing in the country, but attentions continue to be more focused on the disputes in the federal government than on health concerns
Updated 5 de June, 2020 at 2:00 pm
Group aligned with the right wing and the opposition converge and focus on politics
Both sides of the debate maintain their focus on the direct (and political) actions taken by the federal government regarding the Covid-19 despite the recent increase in the death toll and number of cases in Brazil, but approaching it from the institutional context of the relationship between president Jair Bolsonaro, the ministers (and former minister Sergio Moro), the Federal Police, and especially the Supreme Federal Court. This Tuesday (12), for the first time since May 5, the political topic surpassed 2 million mentions per day with the disclosure of a large ministerial meeting before Moro’s departure from the government.
The debate about health on Twitter regains its ironic tone and loses space to politics
On Twitter, the debate about health issues continues to use jokes and irony to approach the effects of the pandemic in people’s lives, making predictions about the future impacts for social relations (such as the regular use of masks) and questioning initiatives of the federal government regarding the outbreak. However, the deaths caused by the disease in the country are still a reason of great concern, as well as the circulation of fake news about the disease.
On WhatsApp, attacks against adversaries of the government stand out
Several adversaries of the government were the target of protests on WhatsApp. The investigation about the supposed “BNDES black box” appeared together with the Adélio Bispo case among old topics which reappeared at the center of the debate. There were also new protests against China, the PT and Moro – who was criticized by Roberto Jefferson, who has now established his position among the main influencers of the right-wing group. Chloroquine and the economic effects of the isolation continue to be recurring topics, and the use of the app as a tool for coordinated digital action stood out.
