“The mistake of the dictatorship was that it tortured and did not kill” he declared in 2016, when he was still a congressman – The COVID “flu”, “gunpowder” for Joe Biden and more.
With days to go until the first round of Brazil’s presidential election on October 2, far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro – according to opinion polls – appears to be trailing centre-left former president Lula da Silva by 13 points.
As Bolsonaro prepares to step down, AFP recalls some of his statements during his four years in office that caused the least bit of outrage.
Pandemic, environment, human rights, women… The outgoing president has repeatedly provoked polemics
COVID “flu”, Brazil “country of freaks”
“For 90% of the population, it will be just a flu, or nothing at all” (March 27, 2020, as the novel coronavirus pandemic spread, killing at least 686,000 people in Latin America’s largest country).
“I feel sorry for the dead. We will all die one day. There is no point in running to save ourselves (from the virus). We must stop being a country of cowards” (November 10, 2020).
“If you turn into a crocodile, that’s your problem. If someone starts growing a beard or someone starts speaking in a female voice, they (the drug company) will have nothing to do” (December 18, 2020, on Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine side effect disclaimer) .
Amazon and NGOs, “cancer”
“We have a feeling that the data (on deforestation) reproduced in the press do not correspond to reality, they simply serve NGOs” (July 19, 2019, when the National Institute for Space Research [INPE] announced an 88% increase in Amazon deforestation in June compared to the corresponding month in 2018).
“I am strict with these guys, but I have not been able to kill this cancer that is the majority of NGOs” (September 3, 2020, in his weekly intervention via Facebook).
“Gunpowder” for Joe Biden
“We recently saw a great candidate for the office of head of state over there saying that if I don’t put out the fire in the Amazon, he’s going to put trade barriers against Brazil. How can we deal with this? Diplomacy alone is not enough. When you run out of saliva you’ve got to have gunpowder, but they’ve got to know you’ve got it” (November 10, 2020, referring to future US President Joe Biden)
Greta Thunberg, “spoilt”
“What is this girl’s name we said? This stranger? Greta. He said indigenous people are dying for defending the Amazon. It’s amazing to see how much importance the media gives to this bastard” (December 10, 2019, reacting to the young Swedish activist who condemned the killing of two indigenous people in the Amazon rainforest).
“Punch your mouth shut”
“I want to punch you in the mouth” (August 23, when a reporter from the newspaper O Globo asked him about rumors of suspected bribery by the president’s wife Michelle).
“Look, you go to bed thinking about me, you’re obsessed with me. In a debate like this (…) it is not possible to make false accusations about my person. You are a shame for Brazilian journalism” (August 28, 2022, addressing journalist Vera Magalias, in the first teleconference of the presidential candidates).
For the dictatorship
“For this 1964 story, if there are documents showing who killed or didn’t kill, that’s nonsense” (July 30, 2019, on official documents on the disappearances of dissidents during the military dictatorship [1964-1985]).
“The mistake of the dictatorship was that it tortured and did not kill” (2016, when he was still an MP).
For hunger
“To say that people are hungry in Brazil, that’s a big lie (…) You don’t see so many poor people on the street with skeletal bodies as in other countries” (July 19, 2019).
“Brazilians eat badly. Some are hungry. This is unacceptable in a country as rich as ours” (a restatement of the previous statement some 24 hours later).
RES-EMP
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I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
