Leaders | Brazil’s dire decade

Jair Bolsonaro is not the only reason his country is in a ditch

The political system that helped him win office needs deep reform

HOSPITALS ARE full, favelas echo with gunfire and a record 14.7% of workers are unemployed. Incredibly, Brazil’s economy is smaller now than it was in 2011—and it will take a lot of strong quarters like the one reported on June 1st to repair its reputation. Brazil’s death toll from covid-19 is one of the worst in the world. The president, Jair Bolsonaro, jokes that vaccines might turn people into crocodiles.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Brazil’s dismal decade”

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