Stephan: Anyone who bothers to follow international news knows that Jair Bolsonaro, president of Brazil, and a full-fledged fascist Trumper, and his corrupt administration, have trashed the economy and wellbeing of Brazil, and his management of the Covid pandemic has been as bad as Trump's was. That's what makes this story all the more fascinating. Here is a story of how a community just a few miles from Rio de Janeiro, in spite of the disaster that is Bolsonaro, has followed a path promoting wellbeing and succeeded. The contrast between Marica and Rio is historically significant, and I hope the world is watching. The American media, of course, has paid no attention to any of this.
Jandira Freitas shows off her mumbuca card — aid in the form of digital currency — that helped her start her own small business in the socialist city of Marica, Brazil, where she lives Credit: Monica Yanakiew/Al Jazeera
MARICA, BRAZIL —Located just 60km from Rio de Janeiro, Marica has modelled itself into a very different city, paying residents a universal basic income, using its own digital currency and procuring its own vaccines.
More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, Brazil seems set on beating its own tragic records on a daily basis. By April, 4,000 Brazilians were dying every 24 hours — an average of one every 20 seconds — and many while waiting for beds in overcrowded intensive care units.
