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Bolsonaro linked Venezuelan girls to prostitutes

    

                                    

Bolsonaro lied about Venezuelans on other occasions

 

                                             President also falsely suggested that girls were prostitutes during speeches in May and September. New videos go viral the same day he tries to contain damage to his campaign with an "apology". Jair Bolsonaro's statements last Friday (10/14) about having "painted a climate" between him and Venezuelan teenagers between 14 and 15 years were not the only inappropriate and untrue references the president made towards girls.

                       This Tuesday (10/18), two more videos went viral on social media in which the president talks about his meeting with the teenagers, during a visit to a house that housed refugees in the Brasília region, in April 2021.

                        The release of the new lines takes place on the same day that the president's campaign released a video in which Bolsonaro apologizes for the episode, but still trying to paint himself as a victim.

The scandal provoked by the speeches has put Bolsonaro's campaign on the defensive in recent days, precisely at a time when the president is trying to reduce his disadvantage in electoral polls.

In one of the videos revealed this Tuesday, Bolsonaro, 67, appears saying that the girls "were cute" and directly stating that they were "dressing up" to "make a show".

                             The statement about the girls being in a situation of prostitution has already been denied by the organization responsible for assisting the young women and by a Venezuelan family. A person in charge told UOL over the weekend that they were "tidy" on the day because they had been attended by volunteers who had trained in aesthetics and brushing techniques.

In 2021, when he visited the place, Bolsonaro did a 22-minute live, but at no time did he mention prostitution in the place.

However, starting in 2022, on at least three occasions, the president began to mention the story, filling his account with lies and making comments that generated revulsion on social media and among opposition politicians.

                            May video

One of the videos that went viral on social media this Tuesday shows Bolsonaro talking about the girls to an audience at an event held by the Associação Paulista de Supermercados on May 16, in São Paulo.

"I've been among the people since the covid appeared. Without a mask. (...) If I didn't do that, I wouldn't know how the people are living. I went to the outskirts of Brasília on a motorcycle. Saturday afternoon, you can imagine, guys. Saturday afternoon, I see it, I stop the bike, I look back and there are some 13, 14-year-old girls, all dressed up. It surprised me," Bolsonaro said.

                                 "I came back. I told the orderly: 'Open a live'. There were about 20 Venezuelans getting ready inside. Pretty girls, 14, 15 years old, getting ready for what? Getting ready on Saturday afternoon for what? what do we want for our daughters and granddaughters?" the president said.

september video

The other video that went viral on Tuesday shows Bolsonaro giving an interview on September 12 to a group of podcasters called Collab. In this interview, Bolsonaro is more direct about associating girls with prostitution.

"I was at, I think, Paraíso is the name of... São Sebastião, in Brasília. The motorcycle there, there was another security person with me. Then I stopped on the corner, took off my helmet, then I looked back and there were two, three cute girls, about 14, 15 years old. It caught my attention. Cute girls, Saturday, right. Why did it draw attention? They looked alike. Then I saw that one more, another one appeared", said the president.

                            "I got off the bike. 'Can I come in?'. I went in. There were about 15 girls in that age group, 14, 15, 16 years old. All of them very well dressed. They had showered, they were doing their hair. Venezuelans. What were they getting ready for? "Does anyone have an idea? Do you want me to talk? I won't talk... To make a show. Do you think they wanted to do this? What was their source of survival? That", added Bolsonaro.

October video about "painted a mood"

Bolsonaro's first disturbing statements about Venezuelan women went viral last weekend, when users began to share a video of an interview the president had granted on Friday (10/14).

In the video of the interview, Bolsonaro appeared stating that he "painted an atmosphere" between him and the group of girls.

                     "I was in Brasília, in the community of São Sebastião, if I'm not mistaken, on a Saturday on a motorcycle [...] I stopped the motorcycle on a corner, took off my helmet, and looked at some little girls... Three, four, beautiful, 14, 15 years old, tidy, on a Saturday, in a community, and I saw that they were kind of alike. There was a mood, I came back. 'Can I come into your house?' I went in. There were about 15, 20 girls, Saturday morning, getting ready, all Venezuelan. And I ask: pretty girls aged 14, 15, getting ready on Saturday for what? Make a living," Bolsonaro said.

The statements provoked immediate repudiation among critics of the president. On the networks, users began to associate Bolsonaro with pedophilia. The PT started to use the speeches in campaign materials to attack Bolsonaro.

The president's campaign has gone into defensive mode. Bolsonaro, visibly shaken and with a hoarse voice, gave an "emergency live" in the early hours of Saturday to try to contain the damage.   

                           Throughout Sunday, Bolsonaro allies also tried to downplay the president's statements. Elected senator Magno Malta and the first lady, Michelle Bolsonaro, argued that the president has a "mania" to speak "painted a climate" for all kinds of situations, but journalists and even the president's allies struggled to find other examples. of similar speeches by the president.

The president himself tried to follow the same line when he arrived at the presidential debate on Sunday, saying that he had referred to "the climate to talk". However, he declined to explain why he implied that the minors were prostitutes.

His opponent, Lula, did not directly explore the allegations during the debate, but sent a message wearing a brooch from a campaign to combat sexual violence against children.

It was Bolsonaro himself who most directly mentioned the controversy, trying to convey an image of a victim and even invoking a decision by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court, who prohibited the PT campaign from exploiting the video that shows Bolsonaro talking about teenagers. . Moraes is often a target of the Planalto, but this time the president adopted a more neutral tone towards the minister upon receiving a favorable decision.

                             Superficial apology and meeting with Venezuelans

Also this Tuesday, Bolsonaro's campaign released a video in which Bolsonaro appears apologizing, but still stating that his statements were taken out of context and complaining of actions by "left-wing militants".

"If my words, which in bad faith were taken out of context in any way, were misunderstood or caused any embarrassment to our Venezuelan sisters, I apologize, as my commitment has always been to better welcome and serve everyone who fleeing dictatorships around the world," Bolsonaro said.

"We are outraged by the latest actions of some leftist militants, who are shamelessly pressuring Venezuelan women to gain political advantage at this time," he said.

                                 In the apology video, Bolsonaro appeared alongside the first lady, Michelle, and María Teresa Belandria, who represents Venezuelan opposition politician Juan Guaidó in Brazil. Belandria remained silent on the video.

Despite the apology, Bolsonaro's speech in the video released by the president still shows inconsistencies. In an excerpt, Bolsonaro said: "The doubt and concern raised were almost immediately clarified at the time by our Minister of Women, Damares Alves, who went to the scene and found that the women mentioned in the live were workers".

However, if in 2021 the former minister Damares had already found that the girls were not in a situation of prostitution, Bolsonaro did not explain why he then started to associate them in 2022 with the practice on at least three occasions.

Also according to the Brazilian press, on Monday, Michelle and Damares visited two Venezuelan women linked to the family mentioned by the president in his statements about the case. The meeting took place in Lago Sul, a prime area of ​​Brasília, and, according to the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper, was organized by members of the Presidency and representatives of Guaidó in Brazil.

                                  Also according to the newspaper, at first, there was resistance from the Venezuelan family, who were scared by the repercussion of the case.

The Estado de S. Paulo newspaper reported that the president's team wanted some of the girls to publish messages claiming that it had all been a misunderstanding. They, however, refused the request.

jps (ots)

source google images

source newsroom https://www.terra.com.br/noticias/brasil/bolsonaro-mentiu-sobre-venezuelanas-em-outras-ocasioes,0b349317cc5aa3723c25e0a5011d0dfcrsfzzs2w.html