Jair Bolsonaro, President of Brazil, was abused mercilessly by onlookers in the capital, Brasilia, after he ventured outside to buy a hotdog and a drink, and rightly so.

Bolsonaro has masterminded Brazil’s ascent in becoming the global hotspot for coronavirus by failing to administer a proper lockdown and generally treating the crisis with little seriousness. Big displays of idiocy have become the norm, as he organises rallies and draws huge crowds who stand closely packed together as they wave their arms in adulation. He saunters through the display without a face-mask, his young family in tow, as his security fuss over his safety.

Bolsonaro has frequently dismissed the coronavirus threat, calling it a “fantasy” or “little flu,” which has thus far taken the lives of 22,000 of his citizens. He claims the economic impacts of shutdowns and quarantine measures will have much more negative effect on the country. His doctrine is strikingly similar to that of Chairman Mao when China was industrialising through the 1960s, who instigated an enormous famine which killed 20 million people for the sake of economic growth. Whilst the figures are vastly different, the same twisted principles remain. Whether Bolsonaro has a grasp on the value of human life, unlike Mao, is yet to be seen. So far, he appears to have placed little importance on it.

Bolsonaro speaking to his supporters during a ‘corona-rally’

The President has whipped up the support of the right as his response to the virus, and he has done it quite successfully. Whilst lockdown or complete shutdown of the economy are not required, a simple acknowledgement of the seriousness of the situation is the bare minimum for any leader. Currently, Bolsonaro makes a mockery of his people and his country and hauls them to the morgue whilst clinging to a hopeless dream of economic growth. Raising GDP per Capita by reducing the number of humans in Brazil isn’t exactly growth, nor does it live up to the fundamental reason for the need for it: to improve the livelihoods and wellbeing of people within the country. Bolsonaro has little grasp of this concept, his ideology thoroughly deserving the “trash” label, and he is well on the path to being an outright “killer.”