Section:GDN 1N PaGe:35 Edition Date:190907 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 6/9/2019 18:36 cYanmaGentaYellowbl
Saturday 7 September 2019 The Guardian •
Migrant slur 35
Tony Abbott refers to
‘swarm’ in Europe
Page 41Jay-Z rapped
Billionaire goes ahead
with new NFL deal
Page 42Bolsonaro urges citizens to
show world ‘Amazon is ours’
Dom Phillips Rio de Janeiro
Tom Phillips Porto VelhoBrazil’s far-right president, Jair Bol-
sonaro, has urged citizens to clad
themselves in the country’s yellow
and green colours and hit the streets
as part of a populist push designed
to shore up his support amid sinking
ratings at home and international vil-
ifi cation over the Amazon.
Bolsonaro made the appeal before
the annual 7 September independ-
ence day celebrations, for whichtub-thumping and highly politi-
cised displays of patriotism will be
held across the country. “It’s to show
the world that this is Brazil. That the
Amazon is ours,” Bolsonaro said as he
launched what offi cials dubbed Brazil
Week – a seven-day carnival of con-
sumption that began yesterday.
Bernardo Mello Franco, a columnist
for Brazil’s O Globo newspaper, said it
was an attempt to “revamp” Bolson-
aro’s fl agging image, which has been
badly hit by international outrage over
the Amazon fi res and Brazil’s som-
nolent economy. “By appropriating[Brazil’s] national symbols, he is try-
ing to sell the idea that his critics are
enemies of the country,” Franco wrote ,
accusing Bolsonaro of weaponising
patriotism for propaganda purposes.
A poll released this week found just
29% of Brazilians think Bolsonaro,
who took power in January, is doing
a good job, while the proportion of
people who oppose his presidency
has risen from 33% to 38%.
The Folha de São Paulo news paper
said this was in large part a result
of frustration at Bolsonaro’s loose
tongue. “Few are the days the nationis spared oddball declar ations or
questionable measures, as Bolsonaro
competes with himself in a marathon
of foolishness,” it said in an editorial.
Bolsonaro’s goading this week of
the UN human rights commissioner,
Michelle Bachelet, over the torture
her father suff ered under the Pino-
chet regime was just the latest in a
succession of diplomatic outrages that
have delighted hardcore supporters
but appalled others. Meanwhile, one
in eight of the population are unem-
ployed and the economy is strugglingto recover from years in the doldrums.
The government said Brazil Week
would “encourage the feeling of patri-
otism in the population ... stimulating
the economy”. As part of commem-
orations, Bolsonaro will attend a
traditional military parade in Brasília.
José Martins, 65, a shopkeeper in
western Rio de Janeiro, said he would
cut some prices by up to 15% for Brazil
Week but would not wear yellow and
green, despite having voted for Bol-
sonaro. “He’s a bit lost,” Martins said.
“He says things he shouldn’t say. He
lacks political ability.”
On Thursday, Bolsonaro’s
government released patriotic
advertisements proclaiming Brazil’s
sovereignty over the Amazon and a
commitment to protecting and sus-
tainably developing the rainforest- but they too ran into problems. A
government tweet in English sharing
one had numerous spelling mistakes.
Oliver Laughland Nassau
Adam Gabbatt WilmingtonOffi cials in the Bahamas yesterday
warned the island faces a “stagger-
ing” death toll after Hurricane Dorian
hammered the island.
With at least 30 confi rmed dead and
preparations under way to deal with
fatalities in the hundreds, the Inter-
national Red Cross has estimated
that almost half of homes on Grand
Bahama have been wrecked. Health
minister Duane Sands warned people
to prepare for “unimaginable infor-
mation about the death toll and the
human suff ering”.
According to local media, Abaco
is virtually uninhabitable, with bod-
ies piled up, no water, power or food,
and citizen militias hurriedly created
formed to prevent looting. Offi cials
there have reportedly ordered 200
body bags.
As the rescue eff ort continued yes-
terday, Hurricane Dorian began raking
the south- eastern US seaboard, with
the thin line of barrier islands off North
Carolina braced for the storm to pass
through as a category 1 hurricane.
Analysts were trying to predict what
force it would have on reaching Can-
ada, the next likely destination.
Dorian made landfall over Abaco
and Grand Bahama last Sunday , then
stayed , obliterating entire neighbour-
hoods with winds of up to 185mph.
Luíz David Rodriguez, from the aid
group Direct Relief, told the Guard-
ian from Abaco that up to 2,000
people were waiting for help outside
the island’s main health clinic. “Lotsof people are waiting to get off the
island,” he said. “They are getting a
little desperate.”
Some dazed survivors struggled
back to their homes but found them
in splinters. In a community known as
t he Mudd people picked through the
debris avoiding a body underneath a
tree, one of at least nine reported in the
area. “Ain’t nobody come to get them,”
said Cardot Ked, a carpenter who has
lived in Abaco for 25 years.Additional reporting
Edward Helmore and agenciesDorian lashes
US coastline
as death toll
in Bahamas
reaches 30
‘He is trying to sell the
idea that his critics
are Brazil’s enemies’Bernardo Mello Franco
O Globo columnist50 miles50 kmDorian’s Great Abaco
pathGrand
BahamaFreeportMarsh
HarbourFloridaCuba▲ Marsh Harbor,
Great Abaco, in
the aftermath
of Hurricane
Dorian. Right:
survivors shelter
in a church on
the island
PHOTOGRAPHS:
BRENDAN
SMIALOWSKI/AFP/
GETTYd
oes ahead
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