Politics

Bolsonaro’s words come back to haunt him

Jair Bolsonaro tried to fabricate evidence of the threats of Venezuelan socialism in Brazil. He ended up facing accusations of being a pedophile, which have rattled his campaign

In a Friday rant, Mr. Bolsonaro said one of the 11 Supreme Court justices is "helping to bury Brazil." Photo: Gabriela Bilo/Folhapress
Jair Bolsonaro throwing a rant at the presidential palace. Photo: Gabriela Bilo/Folhapress

Moments before the first debate of Brazil’s presidential runoff stage last Sunday, President Jair Bolsonaro said in a press conference he had endured “the worst 24 hours” of his life. Thousands of people online were accusing him of being a pedophile.

It all began with an interview for a football-centered podcast on Friday, when Mr. Bolsonaro began talking about the dangers of socialism and the afflictions of Venezuelan immigrants living in Brazil. 

During a visit to a poor community in Brasília, he said, he ran into “cute girls, 14 and 15 years old.” Mr. Bolsonaro claimed “there was a vibe” between them and that he asked to enter their home. He then found out they were “all Venezuelan.”

The president said the girls had makeup on, which he claimed was for the purposes of “making a living,” a result of “wrong choices” — implying, in no subtle terms, that the girls could be sex workers. Hours after the interview aired, detractors began using social media to accuse Mr. Bolsonaro of being a pedophile. 

The accusations were fueled by the president’s use of the expression “there was a vibe” (the original expression in Portuguese, pintou um clima, carries heavy sexual undertones). 

Furthermore, if the story were true, the president would have failed to report to authorities that underage girls were engaging in sex work. That in itself is a crime, as public officials are mandated to report any illegal activity they witness or hear about.

Congressman André Janones of Minas Gerais, a supporter of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva who has matched the pro-Bolsonaro camp in a tit-for-tat escalation of social media attacks, made several posts calling Mr. Bolsonaro a sexual pervert. 

“He said there was a vibe between a 63-year-old...

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