Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro Threatens to Punch Reporter in the Face

[Judi Lynn]

1. Bolsonaro's attempt to shut down debate over mystery payments backfires

After Brazilian president threatens journalist over questions about family’s financial dealings, reporters flood social media with the same question

Tom Phillips Latin America correspondent

Mon 24 Aug 2020 16.14 EDT

Brazil’s social media-savvy leader is facing perhaps the most severe online backlash of his presidency after unsuccessfully trying to snuff out questions about his family’s financial dealings by warning a journalist he wanted to “smash his face in”.

Jair Bolsonaro issued the threat on Sunday, after a reporter from one of Brazil’s leading newspapers asked him to explain why a former policeman with alleged links to Rio’s mafia had paid thousands of pounds into the bank account of his wife, Michelle Bolsonaro.

But the menacing remark quickly backfired as Brazilian journalists flooded social media with the very same question.

“President Jair Bolsonaro, why did your wife Michelle receive 89,000 reais from Fabrício Queiroz?” they tweeted in unison at Brazil’s far-right leader.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/24/jair-bolsonaro-threat-journalist-backfires-social-media