President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) canceled a meeting he would have with the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, on Monday (4). On a visit to Brazil, he would also be received at a luncheon at the Itamaraty.
Before going to Brasília, Rebelo has meetings in São Paulo, on Sunday (3), with two former Brazilian presidents: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and Michel Temer (MDB). An interlocutor heard in reserve said that Bolsonaro would have been irritated by the agenda with Lula, his main opponent in this year’s elections.
The information was initially published by columnist Lauro Jardim, from the newspaper O Globo.
As president, Rebelo is head of state in Portugal. The government command is exercised by the prime minister, the socialist António Costa. This is the second time that Rebelo comes to Brazil in less than a year. In July 2021, he participated in the reopening of the Portuguese Language Museum in São Paulo.
Bolsonaro did not attend the event, but the Portuguese leader met with the president at Palácio da Alvorada, in Brasília. The head of the Planalto did not attend the reopening so as not to meet the then governor of São Paulo, João Doria (PSDB), a political opponent. “We invited the president, who unfortunately preferred to ride a motorcycle in Presidente Prudente”, said Doria at the time.
When contacted, the Portuguese embassy in Brasília did not respond.
