Not so funny - where have you heard this before ?

The pandemic has exacerbated existing political discontent from TheEconomist

Excerpt from the Economist 

In many countries around the world, from Brazil to Belarus, Cuba to South Africa  the pandemic is stirring unrest.

In Cuba  - where tourists were main source of become - shops are empty, they have nothing for dinner and the electricity keeps failing! “We have nothing to lose”

In Columbia - Youth unemployment has risen to 30%. Over several days in May, protesters manned barricades, attacked police stations and looted businesses in Cali, the country’s third-largest city.

In South Africa - the jailing of Zuma  snowballed into mass looting and the burning of shops and businesses - not the corruption and rotten government - but because the people are hungry. 

Pandemics expose the gulf between the haves and have-nots.

Rich people with wine cellars have carried on tippling behind their high walls, but the poor have been deprived of one of life’s pleasures, and harassed by police when they indulge. During the riots, liquor stores were among the first to be looted.

Rich and well-connected go to the front of the queue for vaccinations, medical treatment and government help. 

People are angry about the economic hardships they face.

They are angry that their leaders have not done a better job of containing the coronavirus.

 At the same time, people’s suffering has created a sense of solidarity which is fanning grievances that smouldered long before anyone had heard of Covid-19.