July 4. () –
The former president of Brazil Michel Temer lamented this Monday the sit-in received by the Portuguese president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, by his Brazilian counterpart, Jair Bolsonaro, in retaliation for his meeting on Sunday with his greatest political rival, the former head of the State, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
“A good conversation between the president of Portugal and the president of Brazil would be extremely useful. It is a pity that this disagreement has taken place,” Temer lamented, referring to Bolsonaro’s cancellation of the appointment he had scheduled for this Monday with De Sousa.
As revealed by the Brazilian press, as soon as Bolsonaro learned that de Sousa would meet with Lula, he decided to cancel the lunch they had planned for this Monday. Until now, the Portuguese president has not received an official explanation from the Planalto Palace that explains the sit-in.
“If he asked me for advice, which is not the case, I would tell him: ‘receive President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, he is our partner, the president of Portugal, as well as being a very fine and delicate figure, extremely cultured and well formed’ “, has praised Temer, who hopes that this episode does not suppose a “shock” to the diplomatic relations of both countries.
Bolsonaro’s sit-in has marked De Sousa’s visit to Brazil, who in addition to meeting with Temer and Lula, also intended to meet with former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso, however, seeing how his appointment was canceled, he stopped going through Brasilia, limited to Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
This Monday, after breakfast with Temer De Sousa, he finished the meetings scheduled on his official agenda, although he has not ruled out returning to Brazil soon, on September 7, if the Government celebrates commemorative events for the bicentennial of Brazil’s independence.
“Whoever invites you to eat is the one who decides if he wants to or not. If the president of Brazil understands that he cannot, does not want to, is not opportune, that it is not part of his agenda… I respect those who stop inviting for whatever reason, or because of political or personal inconveniences,” De Sousa said Friday before heading to Brazil.
“I understand that there are political issues. Portugal is an ally of Ukraine, Brazil is not. Lunch is a topic that was not included in the first program of the trip to Brazil. If lunch is possible, fine. If it is not possible, no one is going to die either,” De Sousa tried to play down.
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