Bolsonaro Claims He Owes Bad Image Abroad to Global Left-Wing Media

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In a conversation with supporters outside the Alvorada Palace, Bolsonaro was approached by a sympathizer who asked the SECOM (Secretariat of Communication) to do a “better advertising” of him. She told the President that he is not “well regarded abroad”.

“The world’s press is left-wing. Trump suffers a lot in the United States too,” answered the President.

Although Bolsonaro has been saying says the press is left-wing, since the start of his term – and particularly during the novel coronavirus pandemic – he has suffered criticism even from right-wing or conservative media outlets.

Yesterday, the conservative English newspaper Financial Times published an article entitled “Jair Bolsonaro’s populism is leading Brazil to disaster,” recalling the resignations of Health Ministers amid the pandemic and the adoption of a protocol for the use of chloroquine in Covid-19 in patients. Research so far has not proved the drug’s efficacy.

“Unfortunately, Brazil is already paying a high price for its President’s clowning around – and things are getting worse quickly,” says an excerpt from the article.

In late April, the newspaper also published an editorial entitled “The self-destruction of the ‘Tropical Trump’,” referring to Bolsonaro’s proximity to the President of the United States.

The text commented on the resignations of Ministers, the way the President is dealing with the novel coronavirus pandemic in the country and says that Bolsonaro is “justifying his impeachment all by himself”.

In March, the conservative British magazine The Economist accused the President of downplaying the Covid-19 pandemic in an article. According to the text, Bolsonaro adopted a “complacent” position. The publication praised the position of figures like the then Health Minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, and the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Rodrigo Maia.

“But those who want to work against the disease need to ignore the signs of a President who keeps belittling their efforts,” the article says.

Last week, Bolsonaro also was featured in the international media for attending a rally when Brazil passed Italy and Spain in coronavirus cases.

“Despite the gloomy numbers, Bolsonaro is consistently against the urging of medical experts that rigorous measures be taken to slow the spread of Covid-19. On Sunday, he disrespected the social distancing rules by posing for photographs with children taken from a crowd of supporting protesters,” said an excerpt from a report in the British newspaper The Independent about the incident.

Source: UOL

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