Jair Bolsonaro insulted a journalist who asked him about the use of the mask: “Nurseries, shit press, scoundrels!”

The Brazilian President, Jair BolsonaroOn Monday, he silenced a journalist who questioned him about his refusal to wear a mask and called Grupo Globo, the country’s largest media conglomerate, “shit”.

The president was irritated moments before when they asked him for a comment on the threshold of 500 thousand deaths due to COVID that Brazil adopted on Saturday. “I’m sorry for all the deaths,” said Bolsonaro, who so far had not commented on the fateful mark, due to a pandemic which he has denied from the start and still does not recognize. But it exploded when reminded that he had been fined for not wearing a mask.

“You are destroying the Brazilian family, you are destroying the Brazilian religion!”

“Shut up! You are scoundrels! They practice rogue journalism, which doesn’t help at all. You are destroying the Brazilian family, you are destroying the Brazilian religion!Bolsonaro shouted to the reporter after leaving a military ceremony in Guaratinguetá, in the state of Sao Paulo.

The journalist of Avant-garde television, a network station World, it reminded him of the acts in which he summoned agglomerations of his supporters without masks. Yes When he stressed that he had arrived at the ceremony without a chinstrap, Bolsonaro, dazed, replied: “I arrive as I want, when I want. Stop taking care of my life. “

Second act, he took off his black mask he was wearing at the time and shouted, “Now you can put it in the National newspaper [el popular telediario nocturno de Globo]: I am without a mask in Guaratinguetá. Are you happy now? “

Since coming to power in January 2019, Bolsonaro has repeatedly attacked journalists and the media. “Globo is a shitty press. You are a dirty press (…), if you look at Globo, you are misinformed. You should be ashamed of doing such a favor to a pig “He continued. At his side, the pro-government MP Carla Zambelli, emboldened by the claim of the far-right leader, also removed her mask.

Bolsonaro also complained that the media “do not report” on what his government calls “early treatment” for COVID-19, a cocktail of drugs used only in Brazil and made up of remedies that are effective against coronavirus is unproven, like chloroquine.

“Globo is a shitty press. You should be ashamed of doing such a favor to a pig “

I repudiate their statements

“Trying to silence and attack the press is typical of fascists and people who are reluctant to Brazilian democracy, ”said members of the Senate commission of inquiry, which is examining the government’s actions in the face of the pandemic.

In addition, they expressed their solidarity with journalist Laurene Santos, who was “the subject of a reaction, to say the least disproportionate, on the part of the President of the Republic to a question legitimately asked”. In this sense, they noted that “the aggression” of Bolsonaro “was not only against journalist Laurene, but also against all Brazilians who aspire to a response to the tragedy”.

On his Instagram, The journalist has received several messages of solidarity from Internet users in her latest publications. “All my solidarity. You were brave! », Commented one of his followers. “My congratulations on your professionalism today. Your height, your courage and your calm make the difference and help to shed light on the grave historical moment that we are living. Keep going and keep moving forward. Long live journalism. Let’s go together, ”wrote her colleague Vera Magalhaes.

The Globo group was quick to react either. “It will not be with cries or intolerance that the president will hinder or inhibit the work of the press in Brazil“He said in a statement.

“It will not be with cries or intolerance that the president hinders or inhibits the work of the press in Brazil”

Bolsonaro has also committed against CNN Brazil, accusing him of having “rented” the protests that drew tens of thousands of people last Saturday to criticize the government’s policy on the pandemic.

According to the Ministry of Health, the final solution will be vaccination, but the process is moving very slowly and so far only just over 11% of the 210 million Brazilians have received the two necessary doses.

Bolsonaro has opposed containment measures since the start of the pandemic, questions the effectiveness of vaccines and the usefulness of chinstrap and promotes drugs without proven effectiveness against covid.

“As long as I am president (…), we will fight so that citizens have weapons and are not obliged to wear masks“, He said last Thursday, during his weekly live show.

(With information from AFP and EFE)

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