Bolsonaro Says Black Brazilians Aren’t Owed Anything Over Slavery
- Africans handed over slaves, Bolsonaro says in TV interview
- Allegations of torture in dictatorship were mostly fabricated
Jair Bolsonaro
Photographer: Andre Coelho/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Jair Bolsonaro, a favorite in the Brazilian presidential race, said his country owed blacks no debt because of slavery and pledged to cut back affirmative action policies.
"What debt of slavery? I never enslaved anyone in my life," the former Army captain said in an interview on TV Cultura late on Monday. "Look, if you really look at history, the Portuguese didn’t even step foot in Africa. The blacks themselves turned over the slaves.”