Bolsonaro Committed 58 Percent of Attacks on Journalists in Brazil in 2019 – FENAJ

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro was responsible for 121 of the 208 attacks against media outlets and journalists compiled in Brazil last year by the National Federation of Journalists (FENAJ), representing 58 percent of the total.

According to the organization, Brazil recorded a 54 percent increase in this type of physical or moral attack against professionals or media outlets in 2019, compared to 2018, when 135 cases were recorded.

The survey released on Thursday, January 16th, records that, in Bolsonaro’s case, “there were 114 generic and widespread offensives, in addition to seven cases of direct attacks on journalists.

The majority of Bolsonaro’s attacks occurred in official releases by the Presidency, according to the federation. Among such attacks were speeches and interviews by the president or through the president’s official Twitter.

The president of FENAJ, Maria José Braga, alerted to the gravity of the situation. “There is, in fact, a permanent threat to press freedom in Brazil and to the physical and moral integrity of journalists. There is an urgent need to curb the arbitrariness installed in the country,” she said.

“The head of government promotes, through his statements, the systematic discrediting of the press and journalists. As a result, he institutionalizes violence against the press and its professionals as a government practice,” she said.

Asked about his son Flávio, the president questioned a reporter’s sexuality

Among Bolsonaro’s attacks, there was, for instance, the questioning of a reporter’s sexuality who inquired about accusations that were made against Flávio Bolsonaro, one of the president’s sons. “You have a terrible homosexual face, but I don’t accuse you of being homosexual,” he said.

In another moment of the same interview, Bolsonaro changed the tone and insulted a reporter when answering whether he had proof of an alleged loan made to his friend and former police officer Fabrício Queiroz. “Hey, boy, ask your mother for proof she had sex with your father, okay?”

Bolsonaro compares Flávio to Neymar and insults journalist

In addition to publicly attacking media outlets and journalists, Bolsonaro also restricted access to information. On March 27th last year, for instance, at the entrance to a charity dinner in São Paulo, a press officer selected the outlets that would be authorized to cover the president’s visit.

Journalists from UOL, Folha de S.Paulo, O Globo, Estado de S.Paulo, Valor Econômico, TV Globo and CBN radio were prevented from attending the dinner. Reporters from the TVs Band, Record, SBT and Cultura, in addition to NBR, were able to enter.

Murdered journalists

In addition to the general number of cases of violence against journalists and attacks on press freedom have increased in 2019, the number of murders has also increased, according to the FENAJ survey.

Journalists Robson Giorno and Romário da Silva Barros, both with operations in Maricá (RJ), were murdered. In 2018, a murder occurred and in 2017 no deaths due to the professional practice had been recorded.

In addition to murders, direct attacks on journalists increased in 2019 compared to the previous year, in the category of racial insults. In 2019, there were two cases of racism, and none in 2018.

The same number of occurrences as last year was recorded in the categories of threats and intimidation, in addition to censorship, respectively 28 and 10 cases.

Physical attacks drop

Physical attack, the most common type of violence until 2018, was one of the categories in which there was a decrease in the number of occurrences last year. There were 15 cases, which involved 20 professionals, against 33 occurrences in 2018, according to FENAJ.

In 2019, there were also 20 verbal attacks, 10 cases of impediments to professional exercise, five occurrences of curtailment of press freedom through judicial actions and two cases of violence against the journalists’ union organization.