Bolsonaro’s Ugly Attacks on Brazil’s Press Are Backfiring
Instead of blotting out bad news, they just magnify his failures.
Did you hear the one about the next recession?
Photographer: Murilo Fagundes/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has communication issues. Hardly a day passes when he doesn’t disparage the media, sometimes crassly targeting reporters he claims have mistreated him. Like his gringo alter ego in Washington, Bolsonaro tries to shape the message during improvised gaggles outside the presidential residence. And to ensure no one misbehaves, a security heavy in shades is on call, brandishing a smart phone to surveil the fourth estate.
The mise en scene doesn’t always work out. Just ask Carioca, the comedian from a friendly television network whom Bolsonaro cast as his double one day last week to leaven the mood.