Brazil Carnival Features 'Bolsonaro' Crocodile

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro found himself ridiculed for his Covid policies as the world-famous Carnival (actually "Carnaval" in Portuguese) took place for the first time since the pandemic. 

During the São Paulo parade, a performer wearing a presidential sash transformed into a crocodile after "receiving a vaccine" on stage. [Note: Bolsonaro had once suggested that a Covid vaccine side effect could turn people into crocodiles!] 

Brazil's top samba schools (Escolas de Samba) took part in Carnival celebrations across Sambadromes in São Paulo and Rio De Janeiro on Saturday night, with thousands of participants dancing into the early hours of Sunday. The Rosas de Ouro school, behind the crocodile gag, performed during the second day of São Paulo's section. 

Paulo Menezes, the Rosas de Ouro team member responsible for ideas for the giant floats, told Globo that "crocodile Bolsonaro" was a joke and a way of representing the difficulties faced by Brazilians during the pandemic. 

In case you’re not aware, Brazil has been hit hard by the Covid pandemic, with over 660,000 deaths and nearly 30.5 million cases, according to the World Health Organization. 

Bolsonaro (right), who chose not to be vaccinated against the virus, has been widely lambasted for his Covid policies and the slow roll-out of the vaccine in Brazil. He repeatedly downplayed the severity of the virus, which he referred to as a "little flu", and was criticized for removing his face mask in public after testing positive for Covid-19. 

The Brazilian president had also attended anti-lockdown protests after regional governors imposed restrictions, denouncing the measures as "dictatorial". 

Anyway, Bolsonaro took the whole thing on the chin and merely described it as "bad".