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- Brazillian President, Jair Bolsonaro, referred to Brazil as “a country of f–gots” during a tourism launch event.
- Bolsonaro used the Portuguese phrase “marcias” which translates to the homophobic slur f–got in English.
- He previously told staff who wore face masks that they were “coisa de viado,” a slur which means “for fairies.”
- He later contracted COVID-19. Twice.
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Brazillian President, Jair Bolsonaro, referred to Brazil as “a country of f–gots” during a tourism launch event in Brasilia.
Bolsonaro used the Portuguese word “marcias” which translates to the homophobic slur in what was meant to be a brief closing speech, on Tuesday. It transformed into a 30-minute attack on the press, science, and president-elect Joe Biden, according to Vice News.
He said: “All of us are going to die one day. Everyone is going to die. There is no point in escaping from that, in escaping from reality. We have to stop being a country of f–gots,” the Independent reported.
The president previously used homophobic language while mocking advice to wear face masks and told staff members who wore them that they were “coisa de viado,” a slur which means “for fairies,” according to Pink News. He later contracted COVID-19. Twice.
The Bolsonaro president who was elected in 2018, and was dubbed ‘Brazil’s Trump.’ He has a long history of homophobic comments.
In 2011, he told Playboy: "I would be incapable of loving a gay son. I prefer that he die in an accident" and has also previously compared gay kisses to "a pedophile's right to have sex with a 2-year-old." He said he would punch couples kissing in public, Pink News added.
During a 2013 interview with Stephen Fry, Bolsonaro said that "homosexual fundamentalists" were brainwashing children so they could "satisfy them sexually in the future," The Guardian reported.
This week, he also sparked outrage by celebrating the suspension of China's Sinovac vaccine trials by Brazillian health regulator, Anvisa, after a Sao Paulo study subject took their own life. Bolonsaro is a longtime critic of China.
The death was later found to be unrelated and the trials have continued, The Guardian added.
Despite being 65-years-old, Bolsonaro previously said: "In my particular case, with my history as an athlete, if I were infected with the virus, I would have no reason to worry, I would feel nothing, or it would be at most just a little flu," according to Reuters.
Brazil currently has the second-highest rate of COVID-19 cases after the US with almost 5.7 million infections and at least 164,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Bolsonaro has not yet congratulated Joe Biden on his presidential victory. He is one of Donald Trump's strongest allies and the president continues to pursue legal challenges and refuses to concede.
On Tuesday, he warned that he would respond to the USA with "gunpowder" and not just "saliva" if the White House imposes economic sanctions on Brazil over deforestation in the Amazon.