President and re-election candidate Jair Bolsonaro (Liberal Party – PL, right) said on Sunday, October 16, he had lived the “worst 24 hours” of his life in the face of criticism involving his statement about Venezuelan minors.
Bolsonaro defended himself against accusations of having committed pedophilia upon arrival at the studios of Bandeirantes TV in São Paulo for the electoral debate with the former president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers’ Party – PT, left), convicted for corruption involving Petrobras.
“I spent the worst 24 hours of my life, where I was accused in a cowardly and sordid way of practicing pedophilia.
“They tried to attack my honor in what I hold most sacred: the defense of the family and the innocence of our children. My indignation is beyond measure,” he said in an interview with journalists.
Bolsonaro said that the decision by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) president Alexandre de Moraes to order the removal of videos of the speech about Venezuelan girls puts a “period” and “buries” the issue.
In a podcast on Friday, October 14, the president said, “there was a bit of a thing going” when meeting with Venezuelan girls in 2021. The PT party had used Bolsonaro’s statement in an election advertisement.
“The decision by Mr. Alexandre de Moraes buries that issue. To want to say that I am a pedophile is a crime, a false accusation,” he said.
“He [Moraes] is unequivocal in his decision. It was decontextualized; clippings were made to imply that I went inside the Venezuelan women’s house to practice pedophilia,” he said.
In defending himself, Bolsonaro also stated he frequently uses the expression “there was a bit of a thing going”. “I make it very clear, the term is common [in my vocabulary],” he said.
The Brazilian head of state participated last night, October 16, in the first runoff debate with former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).
Bolsonaro arrived accompanied by Ministers Ciro Nogueira (Civil House) and Fábio Faria (Communications), and his son Carlos Bolsonaro (Republicans-RJ) and advisors.
The debate was organized by TV Bandeirantes, the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper, the UOL portal, and TV Cultura.
The runoff has been marked by an escalation in the tone of television advertisements and publications on social networks.
The political articulations of Lula da Silva and Bolsonaro have exchanged accusations about abortion, Satanism, cannibalism, and pedophilia, in addition to issues related to corruption.
FROM SATANISM TO PEDOPHILIA
On the eve of Sunday’s debate, Bolsonaro’s campaign team was concerned about reversing the negative reaction to the president’s speech about underage Venezuelan girls.
On Friday, he told the Paparazzo Rubro-Negro podcast that “there was a bit of a thing going” when meeting Venezuelan girls in 2021.
The opposition used the speech as ammunition on social media, and the terms “Bolsonaro pedophile” and “there was a bit of a thing going” (“pintou um clima”, literally “painted a mood”) were among the most commented topics in Brazil on Twitter. Lula da Silva’s campaign used the case in its TV advertisement.
Allies claimed that Bolsonaro was the victim of distortion of his speech. The president made a live broadcast to defend himself and criticize the PT.
He also asked the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) to remove the PT’s electoral propaganda excerpt.
The first two weeks of the runoff campaign saw an upsurge in attacks between Lula da Silva and Bolsonaro.
They are trying to increase each other’s rejection among the electorate.
A video released by supporters of the president, such as Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) and Congresswoman Carla Zambelli (PL-SP), associates Lula da Silva with Satanism.
Da Silva’s campaign put a piece on TV that associates his opponent with cannibalism. Bolsonaro, in turn, accused Lula da Silva of encouraging abortion.
The current president and his allies link the political dispute to a “spiritual battle” and a “fight of good against evil”.
Moral themes are essential to mobilize the religious public, especially evangelicals.
Da Silva’s campaign intended to keep the discussions of the electoral campaign on economic and social issues.
The evaluation was that Bolsonaro would have an advantage whenever the debate was based on these issues.
However, the support obtained by the current president in the first round was greater than the PT supporters had expected.
It led them to change their strategy and also dispute the moral agenda.
With information from Poder360