A beach memorial to Brazil’s coronavirus victims has been vandalised by a supporter of the country’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.
Brazilians critical of their government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic dug 100 shallow graves marked with black crosses in the sand of Rio’s Copacabana beach on Thursday to symbolise the country’s lives lost to the disease.
The tribute, organised by non-governmental organisation Rio de Paz, came in protest as Brazil’s death toll from the coronavirus crisis topped 40,000, while cases surpassed 800,000.
Mr Bolsonaro has downplayed the gravity of the pandemic and pushed local governments to lift quarantine measures, sending contradictory signals to Brazilians on whether to use face masks and practice social distancing.
Organiser Antonio Carlos Costa, who criticised Bolsonaro for not showing solidarity with the suffering, said: “The president has not realised that this is one of the most dramatic crises in Brazil’s history.
“Families are mourning thousands of dead, and there is unemployment and hunger.”
But not everyone agreed with the protest. Video footage shared on Twitter showed one man, who branded the activists leftist terrorists, shouting as he ripped crosses out of the sand.
Another man, who said his 25-year-old son died with Covid-19, then went around replacing the fallen crosses.
Mr Costa said he was angered by the man’s actions.
He told The Guardian: “They feel such rage – and I think they’re reproducing the behaviour of the person occupying the highest position in the land.”
Passer-by Marcia Lucia Dias said the situation was “such a tragedy”.
She added: “It’s frightening to see the crosses, but this is really happening.
“Our authorities contradict themselves and we don’t know what to do.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
