Jair Bolsonaro, President of Brazil, downplayed the COVID-19 crisis from the outset, calling it a “mild flu.”

 Jair Bolsonaro, President of Brazil, downplayed the COVID-19 crisis from the outset, calling it a “mild flu.” His rhetoric dismissed protective measures as “overreactions” and prioritized reopening the economy. His interests lay in avoiding lockdowns to maintain short-term economic activity, limit unemployment and corporate damage, and secure ruling party support. He also fueled distrust toward experts and international institutions, projecting an anti-elite stance to solidify his base. In reality, cases and deaths surged, drawing strong domestic and international criticism for neglecting public health. This strategy sharpened the divide between “economic priority” and “public health priority,” and ultimately positioned Bolsonaro, alongside Donald Trump, as an international symbol of the COVID-19 skeptic movement.