Barroso says he did not want to offend Bolsonaro voters in speech at UNE

Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), said this Thursday (13) that he did not want to offend former president Jair Bolsonaro’s voters by using the expression “we defeat Bolsonarism” during the opening of the 59th Congress of the National Union of Students (UNE), in Brasília. In a press release, Barroso said he respects all voters and politicians. “On yesterday’s date, at the Congress of the National Union of Students, I used the expression ‘We Defeat Bolsonarism’, when in fact I was referring to the coup-mongering and violent extremism that manifested itself on January 8 and that corresponds to a minority. I never intended to offend the former president’s 58 million voters nor criticize a conservative and democratic worldview, which is perfectly legitimate. I have the utmost respect for all voters and for all Democratic politicians, whether they are conservative, liberal or progressive,” he said. Yesterday (12), at the opening of the congress, Barroso participated in an act in defense of democracy and combating hate speech in the country. He recalled his role in the student movement and stated that the country defeated “the dictatorship and Bolsonarism”. At the beginning of the speech, the minister was also booed by a group of students who displayed a banner with the words “Barroso enemy of nursing and articulator of the 2016 coup”. He then said that the demonstration is part of democracy and refuted the accusations. Barroso is the rapporteur for the case at the Supreme Court and said that last year he suspended the payment of the national minimum wage for nurses to make the resources available to guarantee transfers. “I come from the student movement. So nothing that is happening here is strange to me. I’ve already faced the dictatorship and I’ve already faced Bolsonarism. And more than that, I was the one who got the nursing money because I didn’t have any money. I am not afraid of boos because we have a country to build, ”he said. The minister’s note is the second position released today on the case. Earlier, the STF released another note to clarify the statements. After Barroso’s statements, parliamentarians linked to former president Jair Bolsonaro took to social media and promised to file a request for the minister’s impeachment in the Senate.

Agência Brasil