Brazil's Supreme Court has revealed a video in which the president appears to be cursing and threatening to fire senior officials who have no authority to fire during a Cabinet meeting • "Damn the Federal Police"
Brazilian President Bolsonaro // Photo: Reuters
The Brazilian Supreme Court has released a video in which the President, Javier Bolsonaro, appears to be using crude language, expressing frustration at his inability to influence appointments and vowing to protect his family and associates from prosecution.
The worsening political crisis threatens to tear the government apart as the country becomes one of the world's hardest-hit corona. Bolsonaro himself denies any wrongdoing on his part.
The video shows Bolsonaro saying during a meeting with the Cabinet: "Damn the federal police, I can't work like that. That's why I'm going to intervene, period. It's not a threat, that's the truth. I tried to replace the security forces in Rio Guignaro, and I couldn't. It's not over, I won't wait to fuck my family and my friends said the president.
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"If I can't replace law enforcement officials, I'll replace their bosses, and if I can't replace them, I'll replace the minister," the president said. The Brazil attorney general is investigating a statement by former Justice Minister Sergio Moro that the president has ordered the federal police chief to be replaced after he refused to provide him with information about an investigation he had made against him.
The president's two sons are under police investigation for various allegations. His son Flavio is suspected of money laundering and embezzlement and his son Carlos, a member of the Rio De Janeiro City Council, who was running a banned campaign against his critics. Both deny the charges.
The Brazilian public has shown so much interest in the video that the Brazilian Ministry of Justice website collapsed from multiple entrances and the local media had to broadcast repeatedly. Bolsonaro himself said he was referring to his security personnel and not to federal police officials in the state.
More than 20,000 people have already died of the Corona virus in the country. Over 300,00 have already been infected with the virus. But President Bolesnaro's stance against closure and restrictive measures on the country's economy has been widely criticized, with the country ranked third in the world in the number of active patients, most of whom are in the lowest tiers in the country.