The EconomistOctober 17th 2020 International 512
1rights than previous ones have and co-
vid-19 has not changed that. But the voice
from the White House is not the only one
that counts.
Last year was a year of mass protests,
which swept six continents, brought down
five governments (Algeria, Bolivia, Iraq,
Lebanon and Sudan) and forced others to
rethink unpopular policies, as in Chile,
France and Hong Kong. This year, by con-
trast, governments have banned mass
gatherings to enforce social distancing. For
many, this is wonderfully convenient.
For example, in India, the world’s larg-
est democracy, the biggest campaign of civ-
il resistance for decades erupted shortly
before the pandemic. For 100 days protes-
ters raged against proposed changes to citi-
zenship laws that would discriminate
against Muslims and potentially render
millions of them stateless. These protests
petered out after a curfew was imposed in
response to covid-19, since it was no longer
possible to occupy the streets.
Later, when Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government be-
gan imposing strict local lockdowns, it sin-
gled out neighbourhoods which had held
protests, many of which were Muslim.
Heavy police barricades locked in residents
for weeks.
In early September the government de-
clared that in the upcoming parliamentary
session there would be no Question Hour
for the opposition and no private mem-
bers’ bills—long-standing institutions that
allow opposition mps to query the govern-
ment directly. The excuse: the health risks
of covid-19, along with assertions that in a
crisis, legislative time was too precious to
waste on noisy debate. The opposition
walked out, allowing Mr Modi to ram
through 25 bills in three days. He then sus-
pended the session eight days early, having
apparently forgotten the earlier excuse that
time was short.
At the outset of the crisis Mr Modi, who
has a knack for the theatrics of power,
called on citizens to bang on pots, and later
to light sacred lamps, in a show of solidar-
ity to fight the pandemic. These displays,
taken up by his supporters with glee, were
not spontaneous expressions of support
for doctors and nurses, like similar dis-
plays in Italy, Spain or Britain. Rather, they
were a demonstration of Mr Modi’s power.
H.L. Mencken, an American journalist,
once wrote that “the whole aim of practical
politics is to keep the populace alarmed
(and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by
an endless series of hobgoblins, most of
them imaginary.” He could have added that
when people have real cause for alarm,
they are even keener to be led to safety.
Some put their trust in the sober calcula-
tions of evidence-driven experts. Others
put their faith in strongmen.
Mr Modi has racked up colossal approv-al ratings this year, even as he presides over
a double catastrophe of mass death and
economic slump. So has Rodrigo Duterte in
the Philippines, despite the largest report-
ed caseload in South-East Asia. Mr Du-
terte’s poll numbers may be coloured by
fear; he has had thousands of people, sup-
posedly criminal suspects, killed without
trial, a campaign that appears to have in-
tensified during the pandemic. But many
Filipinos admire his grim style—extending
a “state of calamity” for another year last
month, temporarily banning many nurses
from going to work overseas and vowing to
try the first covid-19 vaccine himself to
show it is safe.Popular, you’re gonna be popular
Admiration for Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s mil-
itaristic president, is as high as ever, de-
spite over 5m covid-19 cases and more than
150,000 deaths. This is partly because he
has handed out emergency aid to 67m
hard-up Brazilians, but his macho postur-
ing also appeals to many voters. He caught
covid-19 and recovered, crediting his back-
ground as an athlete. He declared: “We have
to face [the virus] like a man, damn it, not
like a little boy.” He blames state governors
for being so scared of the disease that they
wreck people’s livelihoods unnecessarily.
That strikes a chord with some. When
São Paulo’s lockdown was at its tightest, a
clothing shop was illegally letting custom-
ers in through a tiny metal shutter door.
“The governors shut things down to hurt
the economy and make Bolsonaro look
bad,” grumbled the owner, who shared his
president’s dismissive attitude towards co-
vid-19. “The death numbers are a lie,” he
said: “I’m only wearing this mask out of re-
spect for our clients. I don’t need it.”
Strongmen find it easier to impress the
masses when they control the news. In
April Reporters Without Borders, a watch-
dog, counted 38 countries using the coro-
navirus as an excuse to harass critical me-
dia. That number has now more thandoubled, to 91, says Freedom House.
Many governments have criminalised
“fake news” about the pandemic. Often,
this means commentary that displeases
the ruling party. Nicaragua’s regime plans
to ban news that “causes alarm, fear or
anxiety”. El Salvador has relaunched a state
television outlet, having purged 70 jour-
nalists since President Nayib Bukele came
to power last year. “I am watching a very
balanced newscast,” grinned Mr Bukele. “I
don’t know what the opposition will see.”
Anyone in Zimbabwe who publishes or
disseminates “false” information about an
official, or that impedes the response to the
pandemic, faces up to 20 years in prison.
Two journalists were arrested when they
tried to visit in hospital three opposition
activists, including an mp, who had been
abducted, tortured and forced to drink
urine by ruling-party thugs.
All around the world, ordinary people
are being gagged, too. Some 116 citizen jour-
nalists are currently imprisoned, says Re-
porters Without Borders. In Uzbekistan
people entering quarantine facilities have
had to hand over their phones, supposedly
to prevent the devices from spreading the
virus but actually so they cannot take pho-
tos of the woeful conditions inside.
Medics, who see covid-19 fiascos close
up, face extra pressure to shut up. China’s
rulers silenced the doctors in Wuhan who
first sounded the alarm about the new vi-
rus. Censorship can be lethal. Had China
listened to doctors and acted faster to curb
the disease, it would not have spread so fast
around the world.
Still, other regimes have copied China’s
example. In September the Turkish Medi-
cal Association accused Turkey’s govern-
ment of downplaying the outbreak. A rul-
ing-party ally called for the group to be shut
down and its leaders investigated for stok-
ing “panic”. Yet the doctors were right. The
health ministry later admitted that its daily
figures did not include asymptomatic pa-
tients. An opposition lawmaker shared aMalawiRussiaIndiaKazakhstanBrazilNew
ZealandUnitedStates ChinaUganda SriLankaZimbabwePhilippinesBoliviaThailandEgyptTu r ke ySudanBelarusNicaraguaElSalvadorStrongerWeakerAboutthesame
NodataNot a good yearSource: Freedom HouseChange in quality of democracy and human rights since pandemic began, September 2020