Tag: Bolsonaro

Brazil’s skeptical president has virus, US starts WHO withdrawal

  by Louis GENOT with AFP bureaus Agence France Presse Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has consistently downplayed the risks of coronavirus, announced Tuesday he has tested positive, as the United States — the nation hardest hit by the pandemic — formally launched its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO). The UN health agency meanwhile acknowledged that there was “emerging evidence” of airborne transmission of COVID-19, which has infected nearly 11.7 million people around […]

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Brazil’s Bolsonaro announces positive coronavirus test

BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro announced on Tuesday he had tested positive for the coronavirus but said he was feeling “perfectly well” and had only mild symptoms. The far right leader has caused huge controversy in Brazil for repeatedly flouting containment measures and minimizing the risk of the virus, which has killed 65,000 people in the South American giant and infected 1.6 million. The test “has come out and it’s positive,” Bolsonaro […]

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Brazil president rocked by release of expletive-laced video

by Valeria PACHECO Agence France Presse Brazilians got a shocking look Friday at an expletive-laced meeting between President Jair Bolsonaro and his cabinet when a Supreme Court judge released a video at the center of an investigation targeting the far-right leader. The April 22 cabinet meeting is under scrutiny by prosecutors probing allegations by former justice minister Sergio Moro that Bolsonaro tried to interfere in federal police investigations. But it could prove just as damaging […]

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Brazilian President’s ‘So what?’ as 5,000 die sparks fury in Brazil

  RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Rarely have two words ignited such a firestorm of controversy. “So what?” said Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday when a journalist asked him about the fact that more than 5,000 Brazilians had died of the coronavirus. The far-right leader’s off-the-cuff comment has been sparking anger ever since, with governors, politicians, healthcare professionals and media figures all weighing in to express their outrage at his lack of empathy. […]

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Brazil President Bolsonaro joins demo against stay-at-home orders

  SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday joined hundreds of demonstrators outside army headquarters in the capital Brasilia protesting stay-at-home orders issued by state governors. The crowd of around 600 called on the army to intervene in the handling of the coronavirus pandemic and demanded the closure of Congress. Some held up posters declaring “Military intervention with Bolsonaro”. “I am here because I believe in you and you are here […]

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Bolsonaro: China part of Brazil’s future

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China is increasingly part of Brazil’s future, President Jair Bolsonaro said Wednesday, signaling a more pragmatic approach to the Latin American country’s biggest trade partner. Standing alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia, Bolsonaro said he hoped the two countries could not only increase but also “diversify our trade relations.” “China is becoming more and more part of Brazil’s future,” Bolsonaro said after the two men signed […]

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‘Media is lying’ about Amazon devastation, says Brazil’s Bolsonaro

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said Tuesday it was a lie that the Amazon was being devastated by fire and accused countries critical of him of having a “colonialist spirit.” Speaking first at this year’s UN General Assembly, the far-right leader also heaped praise on his American counterpart Donald Trump for respecting his country’s sovereignty. The speech came a week after a Human Rights Watch report that accused Bolsonaro of […]

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Brazil president to skip Amazon summit, citing doctor’s orders

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro will skip a regional summit on fires that have devastated swaths of the Amazon because doctors want him to get ready for surgery scheduled for next week, a spokesman said Monday. The far-right president has been widely criticized over his support for Amazon deforestation and a delayed reaction to wildfires that have hit the rain forest. Bolsonaro has to go on a liquid diet starting Friday, […]

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Brazil’s Bolsonaro fuels spat with Macron over Amazon fires

by Jordi Miro, with Allison Jackson in Rio de Janeiro PORTO VELHO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday repeated a demand for French leader Emmanuel Macron to withdraw recent remarks, as he accused France and Germany of “buying” the Latin American country’s sovereignty with Amazon fire aid. Bolsonaro’s latest comments come amid an escalating diplomatic spat between Brazil and Europe that threatens to torpedo a major trade deal. They also throw into […]

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Brazil’s Bolsonaro authorizes army to help fight Amazon fires

  by Carlos Fabal, with Allison Jackson in Rio de Janeiro Agence France Presse PORTO VELHO, Brazil (AFP) — President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday authorized the deployment of Brazil’s armed forces to help combat fires raging in the Amazon rainforest, as a growing global outcry over the blazes sparks protests and threatens a huge trade deal. Plumes of thick smoke rose into the sky above dense forest in the northwestern state of Rondonia, where bright […]

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Trump, right-wing Bolsonaro announce special relationship

by Sebastian Smith WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump heaped praise Tuesday on right-wing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro — and received plenty back — in announcing a special relationship that he said could even see the Latin American country join NATO. At a joint news conference on the sun-soaked Rose Garden lawn, Trump and the man dubbed “Trump of the Tropics” let the mutual compliments flow. “I have always admired the United States […]

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Venezuela’s Guaido to meet Bolsonaro in Brazil

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido is due to meet Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in Brasilia on Thursday, sources from both camps said. Guaido, recognized as interim president by 50 countries, will travel to the Brazilian capital on Wednesday evening from Colombia, where he has stayed since Friday despite a travel ban imposed by the regime of Venezuela’s socialist leader Nicolas Maduro. Brazil and Colombia are Guaido allies that have been […]

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