Radical Right Populism and the Politics of Cruelty: The Case of COVID-19 in Brazil Under President Bolsonaro

Abstract

In this article, we explore cruelty under populism, focusing on radical right populism. We develop our argument by introducing a two-dimensional model of cruel behavior in politics, in which cruelty is conceptualized as a dependent variable defined in terms of empathy (how the leader addresses those who suffer) and action (how the leader acts to alleviate suffering). This framework provides a nuanced understanding of how cruelty and populism connect, providing an original and cutting-edge contribution to both bodies of work. We use our two-dimensional model of cruel behavior to shed light on the different ways radical right populists (RRP) embrace cruelty as part of their political strategies. We have come to three “ideal” types of RRP cruel behavior: downplaying, blaming, and conspiring. In order to advance our ideas, we rely on the qualitative analysis of Brazil's far-right populist President Jair Bolsonaro and his (in)actions regarding COVID-19, who once asked about the soaring number of dead from COVID-19 simply answered: “So what? What do you want me to do?.” Using this case study, we empirically illustrate different ways in which how cruelty can manifest itself in practice and what real-life consequences it can have.

Brazilian Adults' Attitudes and Practices toward the Mandatory Vaccination for COVID-19 and the Hesitancy about Childhood Vaccination

“…This can be easily explained, considering that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brazilian government adopted a radical stance of right-wing populism and minimized the severity of the disease and discredited the vaccines [34,35]. The Brazilian president insisted on promoting hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 instead of encouraging vaccination of the population, even though these drugs have been shown to be ineffective in treating the disease [36][37][38]. Out of party loyalty or populism, many other politicians have also advocated the use of dubious pharmacological interventions for COVID-19.…”

Connections between populism and nationalism: Evidence from Jair Bolsonaro's speeches

“…During Bolsonaro's administration, however, the international diatribe surrounding the Amazon added fresh impetus to a discourse that rejects external interference in Brazil's sovereignty (De Sá Guimarães & De Oliveira E Silva, 2021;Macedo, 2021). This was also clearly evident in Bolsonaro's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which he criticised the World Health Organization (WHO) and discouraged vaccination (Farias et al, 2022). Thus, we expected to find many references to these topics in Bolsonaro's speeches.…”

Tweeting through a Public Health Crisis: Communication Strategies of Right-Wing Populist Leaders during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…1 In terms of his dismissive tone and indifference to human suffering, Trump's attitude among right-wing populist leaders most resembled Bolsonaro's response to the COVID pandemic in Brazil (Farias et al 2022). 2 We thank the anonymous referee for raising this point.…”