The Brazilian president considers criticism of his government for its policies in the Amazon “unfair”
He affirms that the demonstrations of some of his followers demanding the closure of Congress are part of “freedom of expression”
The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has defended his controversial visit in February to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in the midst of the war with Ukraine, assuring that with it he guaranteed food security in his country and in the world.
“I went to Russia to negotiate fertilizers with President Putin. If I hadn’t gone, we wouldn’t have had fertilizers for our crops in this second half of the year,” Bolsonaro said, adding that “this ensured food security in Brazil and the world.” .
Bolsonaro granted an interview this Monday night for the Globo network newscast, in which he acknowledged that he has not been able to keep some of his promises due to the pandemic, as well as the “enormous drought” that hit Brazil on last year and also because of the war in Ukraine.
BRAZIL ELECTIONS
With regard to the elections scheduled for October, the Brazilian president has assured that he will respect the result whatever it is “as long as they are clean and transparent”.
Some statements that come after several months attacking the Brazilian electoral system and casting doubt on its reliability. Accusations that intensified after the great favorite for those elections, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, recovered his political rights.
However, Bolsonaro has defended these accusations, which he has repeated even though he has no evidence and they have been denied, as part of his interest in “preventing doubts about the elections from being planned.”
In addition to the elections, another of the targets that Bolsonaro has been aiming at with special predilection in recent months is the Supreme Court judge, Alexandre de Moraes, who will act as president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) in these elections.
Bolsonaro has justified that he called De Moraes a “scoundrel” because he was directing a “completely illegal investigation” against him. “The temperature has risen,” said the president, for whom the matter is “already pacified.”
In turn, he said that on his initiative, a meeting will take place this Tuesday between the Minister of Defense, Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, and Judge De Moraes, to guarantee the transparency of the elections. “I am sure they will come to fruition (…). You can rest easy, there will be clean elections,” he said.
CRITICISM OF ITS POLICIES IN THE AMAZON
He has also been questioned by the strong criticism that his policies regarding the Amazon have generated in a large part of the international community, assuring, as he has done on other occasions, that there is an “interest” from outside to attack Brazil in this affair.
“Brazil does not deserve to be attacked in this way,” protested Bolsonaro, who has wondered why only his country is spoken of when “France, Portugal, Spain, or California” are also under fire.
“Unfortunately, Brazil is no different,” he said, acknowledging that yes, there are “criminals” who cause fires somewhere, but he questioned whether a control policy could be carried out due to the large size of that region. “The Amazon is the size of Western Europe,” she justified.
ATTACKS ON INSTITUTIONS
Bolsonaro has also had time during the interview to relativize some of the statements that part of his electorate makes during the rallies in his support, in which the closure of Congress and the Supreme Court are also requested, and even references are made to laws of the dictatorship.
For the far-right leader, it is “freedom of expression” and “part of democracy.” Bolsonaro has said that he does not share these claims, but that “they do not make any sense” to try to punish someone for waving a banner with these types of slogans.
