Portugal Bypasses Bolsonaro, Sets Date to Award Camões Prize to Chico Buarque

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Chico Buarque was the winner of this year’s Camões Award for literature in the Portuguese language. However, President Jair Bolsonaro has already announced that he will not sign the singer’s formal diploma.

However, this will not prevent him from receiving the honor, as decided by the Ministry of Culture of Portugal.

The Portuguese government announced that the award will be presented on April 25th, 2020, in Lisbon. According to the country’s officials, the signing of the diploma by the president is only a formality and does not preclude the award or the ceremony.

Chico Buarque was announced the winner of the 2019 Camões Award on May 21st, after a meeting of the jury at the National Library in Rio. The funding of the prize, of €100,000, is divided between Portugal and Brazil. The Brazilian government’s share of the award was already deposited in June.

In October, Bolsonaro was asked if he would sign the document. “It’s a secret. Chico Buarque?”, he said. “Do I have a deadline? I will sign it before December 31st, 2026,” replied the president, who continued refusing to sign it.

At the time, Chico reacted to the president’s provocation by saying that if the president would not sign the diploma, it would be a second Camões Award for him.

Source: Carta Capital

This article was drafted with automated assistance and reviewed before publication. How we use AI · Report an error