RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Federal Deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro reacted to criticism of his potential appointment to the post of ambassador to the United States and said that his choice is needed to defend what he considers attacks on Jair Bolsonaro‘s government.
“I am not going to go there to drink wine and whiskey. People have an idea that I will live the good life, wake up whenever I want, eat caviar every day when there is also a lot of work to do. I ask you a question: who is defending Jair Bolsonaro outside Brazil? When we look abroad, who is talking about Brazil? It’s Wagner Moura, Jean Wyllys, he’s saying it was a coup… The gringos are looking at the (documentary) The Edge of Democracy and take it as the truth”, explained the parliamentarian in an interview with the program ‘Pânico’, from Rádio Jovem Pan.
According to him, the ambassador has a key significance for the president and, according to him, there are few people defending the government. “With rare exceptions, such as the ambassador to France, [Luís Fernando] Serra, people who raise the government flag. People in 2018 said they wanted change: the ambassador is an extension of the president,” he said.
He once again rebutted criticism that the nomination would be nepotism and held the press accountable for the repercussions of his statement when he stated that one of his qualifications to take up the position was knowing how to fry a hamburger.
“Someone asks you, ‘What’s your qualification to be an ambassador?’ Oh, I can be an ambassador because I’ve already fried a hamburger. Who believes this bloody answer? The press sculpts, cuts what they want, publicizes it, and some people think it’s an expression of the truth,” he said.
Despite criticism, Eduardo Bolsonaro said he defends press freedom and is against censorship, “regardless of whether it’s fake news or not”. For him, right-wing digital influencers have been able to reach the public without the journalistic filter.
“The press must be free, regardless of whether they spread fake news or not. Obviously, we will express our opposition. But it is not enough to have someone controlling the press, because this will be censorship. You can put someone on as long as they’re right-wing, okay? Or will the right-wing like it if you put someone from the left-wing to exert this kind of control?” he said.
For Eduardo Bolsonaro, “The internet is like a soccer stadium. “You go there, you let it all out, etc. If you don’t like that profile, just stop following it. If I’m publishing and I find it offensive, I block the guy,” he argued.
The President’s son also said that it is Jair Bolsonaro who manages his own account on Twitter, but with the help of his children.
“Of course, there are people who advise him – he writes a text, something like that, then someone presses Enter. Carlos cooperates with this (…). Because he has the experience of closely following this – and there is no way that I would know how to deal with the social media of a conservative president like Jair Bolsonaro -, Carlos ended up taking up this task. And with great wisdom. Proof of this is that the president was elected. He is the main person responsible for our social media. Now to say that Jair Bolsonaro says one thing and he tweets another, that’s not how it’s done,” he explained.
Source: UOL