Pandemic Has Caused as Many Brazilian Deaths as Its 19th-Century Paraguay War
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – After on Friday passing the one million Covid-19 infections mark, Brazil is today nearing another grim figure: 50,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic. As a result, the coronavirus is now killing in Brazil as much as the Paraguayan War, the worst armed conflict in Latin American history.
The Paraguayan War marked its 150th anniversary in March (1864 to 1870). It was fought between the Triple Alliance (comprising Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay) and Paraguay, involving political, commercial, and territorial disputes.
The total number of casualties is unclear, but according to an estimate by historian Francisco Doratioto, author of the book ‘Maldita Guerra’, some 50,000 Brazilian soldiers died in the conflict. Decimated in the war, Paraguay lost much more: around 280,000 people, mostly civilians.
The coronavirus pandemic has killed more people in Brazil than those killed in road accidents last year, the tenth leading cause of death in the country. According to data from Líder, an insurance company responsible for compulsory motor vehicle personal injury insurance (DPVAT), 40,721 people died in the country in 2019 in road accidents.
Covid-19 in Brazil has also killed more than the total of deaths recorded in 2018 as a result of heart failure (26,482), liver disease (25,793), urinary tract diseases (19,956), renal failure (15,884) and HIV (11,222), according to data from the Ministry of Health’s Datasus. At the current pace, it should also exceed the total number of deaths from violence in the year – 55,914.
By Friday night, Brazil counted 49,090 deaths caused by the novel coronavirus, according to data from the press consortium that includes UOL, Folha de S.Paulo, O Estado de S. Paulo, O Globo, G1 and Extra. The balance is based on information from the 27 state Health Secretariats.
Should it continue the average of the past few days, Brazil will become the second country in the world to pass the 50,000 death mark. However, the true number of deaths is likely to be much higher. Officially, the first country to reach this mark was the United States, on April 23rd. The United States continues to lead the statistics for victims of the pandemic, with almost 2.3 million confirmed cases and 121,400 deaths.
However, over the past seven days, 4,582 people have died from Covid-19 in the United States, or 655 deaths per day, while in Brazil, there were 7,189 deaths over the same period, an average of 1,207 per day.
Source: Exame
Key Facts
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— For the complete picture, read our in-depth guide: Paraguay: Washington's Most Valued Ally in Latin America
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