Brazil presidential candidate Bolsonaro’s most controversial quotes

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Right-wing ex-army captain and presidential front-runner Jair Bolsonaro is a controversial figure in Brazil, not least for a series of comments about torture, rape, homosexuals and women.

Ahead of the October 7 election first round, AFP takes a look at some of 63-year-old’s most eye-catching comments.

– Torture –

— “The dictatorship’s mistake was to torture but not kill.” — Interview with Jovem Pan radio station, June 2016.

– “During the dictatorship, they should have shot 30,000 corrupt people, starting with the (then) President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, which would have been a great gain for the nation.” — Guotes carried by TV Bandeirantes, May 1999.

— “For the memory of colonel Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, the terror of Rousseff… my vote is yes!” — After voting in favor of impeaching then-president Dilma Rousseff, a former guerrilla who was tortured under the military dictatorship, Bolsonaro dedicated his vote to retired colonel Ustra, the former head of the military dictatorship’s intelligence services accused of having killed at least six people under torture. 

– Killing –

— “We’re going to shoot the PT supporters in Acre.” — During a Workers’ Party (PT) electoral meeting in the western state on September 1. His communications department subsequently said: “it was a joke, as always.”

– Religion –

— “God above all. This history of a secular state doesn’t exist, no. The state is Christian and those who are against it can leave. The minority must bow to the majority.” — A meeting in Paraiba, February 2017.

– Race –

— “I went to a quilombola (a settlement of African slave descendants) in Eldorado Paulista. The lightest Afro-descendent weighed seven arrobas (around 80 kilograms, 225 pounds). They don’t do anything. They’re no use even to procreate.” — During a conference at Rio de Janeiro’s Hebrew Club following a visit to a quilombola.

— “Preta, I’m not going to talk about promiscuity with anyone. I won’t run that risk, because my sons were brought up very well and they haven’t lived in environments such as is, unfortunately, yours.” — When singer and presenter Preta Gil, the daughter of renowned musician Gilberto Gil, asked him on TV Bandeirantes in March 2011 how he would react if one of his sons fell in love with a black woman. Later, Bolsonaro said he’d misheard the question and thought it referred to a possible homosexual relationship.

– Women –

— “It saddens me to see the entrepreneurial world in Brazil, because it’s a misfortune to be a boss in our country, with so many labor laws. Between a man and a young woman, what will the entrepreneur think?  ‘Damn, this woman’s got a ring on her finger, she’ll be pregnant soon, she’ll be on maternity leave for six months…’ Who’s going to pay the bill? The employer. In the end it’s deducted from social security but the work rhythm is broken. And when she returns, she’ll take a month-long vacation. In the end, she works five months in one year.” — Interview with Zero Hora newspaper, December 2014.

– Rape –

— “She doesn’t deserve to be raped because she’s very ugly. She’s not my type, I’d never rape her. I’m not a rapist, but if I was, I wouldn’t rape her because she doesn’t deserve it.” — Bolsonaro speaking to Zero Hora in December 2014, explaining why he previously told leftist deputy, Maria do Rosario: “I wouldn’t rape you, you don’t deserve it.”

– Homosexuals –

— “I wouldn’t be able to love a gay son. I wouldn’t be a hypocrite, I’d prefer a son to die in an accident than appear with a moustacho.” — Interview with Playboy magazine, June 2011