Millions of Brazilians took to the streets to celebrate 200 years of independence from Portugal. And as the military tanks rolled onto the streets for the colourful parades, repeated every 7th of September, President Jair Bolsonaro took the opportunity to ask his followers to make a stand, in an apparent move to twist the national holiday towards partisan ends.
Just one month ahead of presidential elections, Bolsonaro decided now to host his Portuguese counterpart, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. This however was in stark contrast to last July, when the European leader visited Brazil and was snubbed by Bolsonaro for meeting with former President Lula da Silva.
De Sousa said he took the opportunity to talk about Brazil’s first ‘independent’ leader.
