Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Home targeted by IOF in Tammoun currently on fire, confrontations ongoing with Resistance fighters in area.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: IOF are breaking into homes in Salfit, looking for responsible for yesterday's operation.
Palestinian news sites: Explosive drone explodes inside surrounded home in Tammoun, South of Toubas.
Field sources in West Bank: Violent confrontations being fought by Resistance fighters against IOF which surrounded a home in Tammoun, south of Toubas.
Putin approvesexperts for talks with Ukraine: Kremlin
Russian Deputy FM Galuzin, Head of General Staff Kostyukov, Deputy Defense Minister Fomin will participate in Istanbul talks: Kremlin
Russian presidential aide Medinsky will lead Russia delegatioon at Ukraine talks: Kremlin
Putin approves composition of Russian delegation for negotiations with Ukraine: Kremlin
Abu Obeida posts on X, commenting on the West Bank operation amid Israeli rumors that he was assassinated
Israeli media: An Israeli settler was killed and two others were injured in the shooting near Salfit

Bolsonaro apologizes amid 'pedophilia' row

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 19 Oct 2022 11:02
4 Min Read

Fighting for re-election, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro apologizes for what many saw as "pedophilia" after his remarks about underage Venezuelan girls, whom he called "very pretty".

  • x
  •  Brazilian President and reelection candidate Jair Bolsonaro on 14 October 2022. (Photo by DOUGLAS MAGNO / AFP)
    Brazilian President and reelection candidate Jair Bolsonaro on October 14, 2022 (AFP)

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro apologized on Tuesday he was accused of "pedophilia" following a visit to a group of underage girls he implied were sex workers.

Fighting for re-election in an October 30 runoff against veteran leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the far-right President has been embroiled in a maelstrom over his remarks about underage Venezuelan females, whom he described as "very pretty".

"If my words, which were taken out of context in bad faith, were somehow misinterpreted or caused discomfort to our Venezuelan sisters, I apologize," Bolsonaro said in a video posted online.

"My commitment has always been to better welcome and assists all people fleeing dictatorships anywhere in the world," he added, with his wife and Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido's representative in Brazil on his side.

Read next: UK implicated in Bolsonaro's dirty business; hidden dealings exposed

The controversy erupted Friday when Bolsonaro spoke in a YouTube interview about visiting the home of "three or four very pretty 14- or 15-year-olds" last year in a poor Brasilia neighborhood.

"There was a vibe between us. I turned around. 'Can I come in your house?' I went inside. There were 15 or 20 girls (in the house), all Venezuelans aged 14, 15, getting ready on a Saturday. Why? To earn a living," he said.

A lot interpreted the incident as an attempt by Bolsonaro to hint that if Brazil elects Lula, it will face the same destiny as Venezuela. However, Bolsonaro found himself on the defense after Lula supporters denounced the statements as "depraved" and the hashtag #Bolsonaropedofilo (Bolsonaro pedophile) went viral on social media.

His campaign succeeded Sunday in a petition to electoral authorities to ban an attack ad based on excerpts from the interview, with Bolsonaro saying the preceding day had been "the most terrible of my life."

Related News

Brazil's Bolsonaro says rushed trial aims to block his reelection bid

Brazil former president, allies, face lawsuit over alleged coup

Bolsonaro and da Silva trade insults

Two days ago, Brazilian far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had a heated first presidential debate, their first chance to challenge each other face to face. 

Hardly a minute went by without the candidates trading jabs and insults as they squared off Sunday in their debate, two weeks from Brazil's neck-and-neck presidential election.

Lula bashed Bolsonaro, calling him a "little dictator" and the "king of fake news," accusing him of lying, and having a "disgraceful" record of corruption.

The ex-President (2003-2010) was particularly harsh in his criticism of Bolsonaro's handling of Covid-19, which has killed 687,000 people in Brazil, second only to the United States.

"Your negligence led to 680,000 people dying when more than half could have been saved," the ex-metalworker said.

Bolsonaro sought to play the blame game, shifting the focus to the issue of corruption. "Your past is disgraceful... You did nothing for Brazil but stuff public money in your pockets and those of your friends," Bolsonaro said, calling Lula a "national shame".

"Lula, stop lying, it's bad for you at your age," said Bolsonaro.

In another controversial statement, Bolsonaro swaggered to a foreign journalist in 2016, “I’d eat an Indian, no problem at all.” At the time, he recalled a trip to an Indigenous community where he was allegedly offered the opportunity to consume human flesh.

Simultaneously, Indigenous leaders have dismissed Bolsonaro's boast as yet another fabrication by Brazil's far-right President. The Yanomami people of the territory Bolsonaro claims to have visited asserted to have never committed such practice.

An Indigenous leader who has just been elected to congress said in a tweet, “Bolsonaro is a compulsive liar.” 

Meanwhile, footage of Bolsonaro's cannibalism remarks, which were first broadcasted on his official YouTube channel six years ago, has gone viral on social media and has been used as further proof of the president's wantonness.

  • Jair Bolsonaro
  • Lula da Silva
  • Brazil

Most Read

Trump cut off contact with Netanyahu, senior Israeli official says

Trump cut off contact with Netanyahu: Israeli media

  • US & Canada
  • 9 May 2025
A boy draped in a Palestinian flag carries a mock rocket during a weekly anti-US and anti-Israeli rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, May 9, 2025 (AP)

Yemen announces hypersonic missile strike on Ben Gurion Airport

  • Politics
  • 9 May 2025
President Donald Trump, left, greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Washington (AP)

US pressures 'Israel' for Gaza deal; Witkoff's Israeli rebuke leaked

  • US & Canada
  • 9 May 2025
Palestinians pray over bodies of people killed in the Israeli bombardment who were brought from the Shifa hospital before burying them in a mass grave in the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023. (AP )

Gaza casualty figures mask a much bigger horror, new study shows

  • Politics
  • 11 May 2025

Coverage

All
Gaza prevails against genocide

Read Next

All
A Fly Dubai plane is parked on the tarmac at Ben Gurion International Airport in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024 (AP)
Economy

Israeli tourism suffers $3bln loss amid 'unprecedented' crisis

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during an annual ceremony in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, April 29, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu refuses to budge, captive talks stall: Israeli officials

Susan Sarandon joins hundreds urging BBC to release delayed Gaza film
Europe

Susan Sarandon joins call for BBC to air documentary on Gaza medics

In this photo released by the Saudi Royal Palace, Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, left, shakes hands with President Donald Trump, centre, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, May 14, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Trump worries 'Israel' with Syria sanctions lift: The Times

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS