It seems the word ‘presidential’ does not carry much weight than it used to in the past, as Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has been revealed by a sneaky camera this week to have threatened an inquiring journalist with a punch in the face.
The journalist in question was trying to query the details of an alleged family corruption related to the President. President Bolsonaro was going about his way at his visit to the Brasilia Metropolitan Cathedral when a pack of journalists swooped in to ask him the dire questions. The particular journalist is said to be a member of the O Globo, a local newspaper.
The journalist made a point in asking the allegations surrounding Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the President’s son, a financial fraud case involving a bank account now suspected to be directly linked to first lady Michelle Bolsonaro.
President Bolsonaro told the reporter, “I feel like punching you in your mouth, okay?”
Fabrício Queiroz, the former aide to Bolsonaro’s eldest son, have recently made a tell-all to a local magazine that the dubious Senator had transferred around 72,000 Brazilian reals ($12,800) in checks to Michelle Bolsonaro between 2011 and 2016.point 222 |
Queiroz is placed under house arrest as he is deemed crucial in the ongoing corruption investigation involving Bolsonaro’s son.point 115 | President Bolsonaro, taking aside his rather emotional response at the steps of the cathedral, has decided to stay mum regarding the latest allegations.point 245 | 1
His family is no stranger to criminal charges and potentially more shady allegations, the more serious one being placing Flavio Bolsonaro in the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro State. The Brazilian Supreme Court is also officially looking into the cases of the President’s other sons, Carlos and Eduardo, for spreading fake news on the internet. These are only the tip of the iceberg.
O Globo, the newspaper company involved, has used its voice to openly criticize the president in its editorial, saying: “GLOBO repudiates President Jair Bolsonaro’s aggression against a newspaper reporter who was just doing their job performing his role, in a totally professional manner.”
Brazil’s National Association of Journalists has also chipped in. “It is unfortunate that once again the president reacts aggressively and without fear to a question from a journalist. This attitude in no way contributes to the democratic and freedom of press provided in the Constitution,” the statement said.
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Replaced!