Brazil Prez Called Coronavirus 'Fantasy' But Country's Mafia Has Enforced Curfew & People Obey

World is in lockdown and the coronavirus threat is real. But Brazilian President Jair Bolsanaro is having none of it and has even gone on to call coronavirus a 'little flu.'

He even went on to boast about how if COVID-19 infected him, 'he wouldn't feel anything.' While the country's death toll due to coronavirus has gone past 40, Bolsanaro is not at all worried about the mounting infected cases.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsanaro/AP

Yet, the story has a twist. Brazilian mafia has now stepped in and enforced curfew in parts of the country. No, it is not a movie. This is happening for real and residents seem to be obeying and staying indoors.

Drug traffickers in one of Rio de Janeiro¡¯s best-known favelas have imposed a coronavirus curfew, amid growing fears over the impact the virus could have on some of Brazil¡¯s poorest citizens.

¡°The traffickers are doing this because the government is absent. The authorities are blind to us,¡± one Rio de Janeiro resident told The Guardian.

Loudspeakers within a Rio favela known as City of God, broadcast that punishment would await all those who broke the curfew.

AP

Gang members also moved around the area telling people, ¡°We will do a curfew because no one is taking it seriously. Anyone who is on the street or kicking will receive [punishment] and will be an example. It is better to stay at home. ¡­ The message has already been given,¡± according to Extra, a Rio de Janeiro-based newspaper.

City of God¡¯s gangsters are not the only outlaws attacking coronavirus in Rio¡¯s densely populated favelas, which are home to about 2 of the city¡¯s 7 million residents.

In the Morro dos Prazeres, gang members have told residents only circulate in groups of two while in Rocinha, one of Latin America¡¯s biggest favelas, traffickers have also decreed a curfew, The Guardian has reported.

In Santa Marta, a favela that sits in the shadow of Rio¡¯s Christ the Redeemer statue, traffickers have been handing out soap and have placed signs near a public water fountain at the community¡¯s entrance that say: ¡°Please wash your hands before entering the favela.¡±

Well, this is quite a plot. When the government is still not imposing lockdown in Brazil, the mafia is ensuring the curfew is in play to contain the spread of coronavirus.

But the question begs, why is the Brazilian government taking this lightly? With more than 21 crore population and the risk of large population getting infected, this is strange and reckless move by government, not to enforce lockdown.

Let's hope the mafia keeps doing what government isn't at the moment - keep people inside their homes.