Economist Podcasts Pandemic power-grabs: autocrats’ covid opportunism
Oct 22, 2020
Robert Guest, Foreign editor at The Economist, and Olivia Ackland, who covers Central Africa and cobalt mining, delve into the darker side of the pandemic. They discuss how autocrats worldwide have seized the opportunity to stifle democracy and civil liberties under the guise of public health. The duo also explores the troubling impact of falling cobalt prices on communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where local miners face increasing hardship and crime as larger firms dominate the industry.
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Pandemic Power Grabs
- The COVID-19 pandemic has provided cover for autocrats to accelerate the decline of democracy and human rights.
- With global attention focused on the pandemic, authoritarian leaders are exploiting the crisis to suppress dissent and expand their power.
Repression in Uganda
- In Uganda, opposition MP Francis Zake was arrested and tortured for distributing food aid to his constituents during lockdown.
- The government claimed only they could distribute aid, using the pandemic as justification to suppress political opponents.
Pandemic Xenophobia
- Pandemics often exacerbate xenophobic tendencies, which some leaders exploit to further their populist agendas.
- Examples include blaming Muslims, Romani people, LGBTQ+ individuals, and migrant workers for the spread of the virus.