Brazil, the United States, Russia and Great Britain are the four countries where Covid-19 has spread more quickly. They also have their populist, anti-elite and anti-system leaders in common, analyzes an article in The New York Times
The four leaders are Jair Bolsonaro, the President of Brazil, Donald J. Trump, the President of the USA, Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, and Boris Johnsson, Prime Minister of Great Britain. Despite the differences between them, the four statesmen fit the concept of “radical right-wing populists and not liberals”, a definition by Harvard Political Science Professor Daniel Ziblatt, co-author of the book “How Democracies Die” Democracies Die ”), writes the NYT.
Several political scientists believe that this pattern is not a coincidence. Illiberal politicians (a new term for authoritarians) tend to reject the views of scientists and promote conspiracy theories. “They often go against the opinions of intellectuals or experts of various kinds,” says Steven Levitsky, co-author of the book with Daniel Ziblatt. “These leaders tend to show common sense wisdom that experts lack. This does not work very well with Covid-19 ”, he stressed.
