President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) participated, this Thursday morning (24), in an event in São José do Rio Preto (SP). In his 18-minute speech, the president did not mention Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, launched this Thursday.
The ceremony in the interior of São Paulo marked the opening of the Travessia Urbana de São José do Rio Preto, on the BR-153. In his speech, Bolsonaro commented on his election to the presidency in 2018 and criticized state governors for their social isolation policies to combat covid-19.
“Over these last two years, we have seen and felt prototypes of dictators all over Brazil, where these apprentice dictators took measures, some populist and others not thought of, but that directly affected our lives. I had, and still have, the power to close down all of Brazil by decree. I never considered that, because freedom comes first,” Bolsonaro said.
About the Russian invasion of Ukraine, however, the president made no mention. Bolsonaro visited Russia last week, on an agenda that would deal with the trade interests of the two countries. Upon meeting Vladimir Putin, Bolsonaro said Brazil was “solidarity with Russia” and that the two countries had “a lot to collaborate on”, citing defense, agriculture and oil and gas issues.
This Thursday, the Brazilian position on the conflict was expressed by a official note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairswhich calls for “the immediate suspension of hostilities and the beginning of negotiations leading to a diplomatic solution”, and by an interview with the vice president, Hamilton Mourão (PRTB), saying that Western countries should react by force in support of Ukraine.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine represents the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War II.
Ukrainian officials said at least 50 Russian soldiers had died and six Russian planes had been destroyed. In addition, information indicates that at least 40 Ukrainian soldiers would also have died. However, there is no official confirmation of the number of deaths so far.
Source: CNN Brasil
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