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In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, a surreal and haunting story unfolded in the remote city of Iquitos, located in the Peruvian Amazon. Juan Pablo Vaquero, a resident of the city, was declared dead from the virus in April 2020. His sister, unable to see his body, was later shocked to find him alive and standing at her door just three days after his death was confirmed. He claimed to have awoken among a pile of corpses in the jungle, and thus, the legend of “Uncle Covid” was born.
Vaquero’s story quickly became a local sensation, although it was dismissed by the political and medical elites of the city. For many of Iquitos’ impoverished residents, however, the tale struck a chord, symbolizing the dire situation they found themselves in during the first wave of COVID-19. New research on the pandemic’s impact on Iquitos reveals a devastating picture: around 70% of the city’s population was infected by July 2020, and the region of Loreto, where Iquitos is the capital, experienced the highest death rate in Peru — which at the time had the highest death rate globally.
The primary causes of this catastrophic loss of life were linked to severe poverty and a lack of medical resources. Many of Iquitos’ residents worked in the informal economy, relying on daily income to feed their families. With a strict lockdown imposed by the government, many were forced to break the rules, inadvertently spreading the virus into overcrowded homes. But perhaps the most significant factor contributing to the disaster was the shortage of medical oxygen.
Decades of austerity and privatization had decimated Peru’s healthcare system, and local governments, riddled with corruption, failed to provide adequate support. Iquitos’ main hospital had only seven intensive care beds and a malfunctioning oxygen plant, unable to meet the overwhelming demand for life-saving oxygen. This crisis gave rise to a black market, where a single oxygen tank could cost more than 5,000 soles (£1,190), and criminal gangs associated with local government figures profited from the sale of stolen oxygen.
This “cannibal capitalism” became a stark reality for the city’s residents. The poor were excluded from the black market and left to die, their bodies piling up in morgues and mass graves. By late April 2020, the morgue had overflowed, and a mass grave was opened outside the city to accommodate the dead. The community’s suffering and the disarray at the city’s hospital painted a surreal image of the pandemic’s destructive power.
In an attempt to understand the impact of these surreal events, the author conducted research using “ethnographic surrealism” to capture the unspoken and surreal aspects of everyday life during the pandemic. One chilling story recounts how bodies were collected for the mass grave by homeless individuals hired by a regional government member. They transported the dead in trucks while eating burgers on top of the stacked bodies.
But it was Vaquero’s personal story that defined this period. His family believes he was one of the many unfortunate souls left for dead in a mass grave. The day after his “death,” he was found alive, covered in dirt and maggots. His return to his family became a symbol of resilience in the face of a broken system, as many believed the virus and the corrupt capitalist system were mercilessly at odds with the survival of the poor.
As the world continues to grapple with the aftermath of the pandemic, the story of Uncle Covid highlights the social collapse and deepening inequalities exposed during the crisis. Even as governments and institutions failed to protect their citizens, the poor of Iquitos found a way to survive, resisting a system that had traded their lives for profits. The legend of Uncle Covid lives on as a haunting reminder of both the surreal horrors of the pandemic and the unbroken spirit of those who endured it.
Disclaimer: This article is based on research and personal accounts regarding the events in Iquitos during the first wave of COVID-19. While the events described are grounded in real experiences, certain elements may be subject to interpretation. The depiction of the black market and corruption reflects personal testimonies, but these claims have not been universally verified by official sources. The intent of this piece is to shed light on the ongoing challenges faced by marginalized communities and the harsh realities of the pandemic’s impact on global inequalities.
