Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro under fire as court releases profanity-laced video of cabinet meeting

The video was released as part of a probe into allegations that the Brazilian president was trying to improperly meddle in the federal police

Bolsonaro’s popularity has been sagging due to his downplaying of the coronavirus pandemic, which was barely discussed in the meeting

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Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro speaks with journalists as he arrives at Alvorada Palace in Brasilia. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:01pm, 23 May 2020Updated: 9:32pm, 23 May 2020

A profanity-laced video showing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro expressing frustration at his inability to get information from police and vowing to change cabinet ministers if needed to protect his family was released on Friday at the order of a Supreme Court justice, a potential new blow for a leader whose popularity has been sagging.

The two-hour video of a cabinet meeting, with portions redacted, was released as part of a probe into allegations that the president was trying to improperly meddle in the federal police, a claim made by former justice minister Sérgio Moro when he resigned last month.

Moro told investigators that Bolsonaro openly demanded he make changes in key federal police positions, including the head of the agency. Moro resigned after Bolsonaro fired the federal police director general without consulting him.

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro speaks with journalists while wearing a protective face mask. Photo: Reuters

The video shows the president complaining, “I already tried to change our security in Rio de Janeiro and I couldn’t. That is over. I will not wait [for them] to [profanity] my entire family just for fun, or a friend of mine.”

Bolsonaro has insisted he was referring to the head of his security detail, though he had successfully changed that position recently. Moro said the president was alluding to the head of police operations in Rio, who presumably might have been involved in investigations into the president’s sons, who live there.