ROME—Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro skipped climate talks in Scotland to ruffle feathers in Italy, where he was bestowed honorary citizenship on Monday in the village of Anguillara Veneta. The town is the birthplace of his grandfather, who was born with the last name Bolzonaro—changing the “z” to an “s” when he emigrated to Brazil in the late 19th century.
“I am moved to be here,” he told a crowd of supporters of Italian right-wing leader Matteo Salvini—who was his personal guide. “It’s from here that my grandparents left. I am pleased to be surrounded by good people.”
Shortly after he was given the honor on Nov. 1—a national holiday in Italy when people honor the dead—police had to use water cannon to push back around 500 protesters who waited outside the San Antonio basilica in Padua during the Brazilian president visit. Some of the demonstrators shouted “Fascist” and “Misogynist” and others touted the autocratic leader as an Italian abroad who makes them proud.
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Some threw rocks and pushed back against a line of riot police while others threw roses, sparking scuffles between the two sides.
Seemingly ignorant of those protesting against him, he went on a Trumpian rampage which naturally scorned the media. “It was God’s will that I become president of Brazil,” he said. “We are doing excellent work, which is certainly recognized by the people but not by the mass media.”
Earlier in the day, Brazilian journalists covering the G20 conference in Rome filed a formal complaint against his bodyguards, alleging that they roughed them up as they partook in a walkabout through Rome’s city center during the conference. The journalists say they were hit and pushed as they approached his entourage.
Anguillara Veneta’s mayor Alessandra Buoso, a member of Salvini’s far-right Lega party, gathered his own counter-protesters to support the Brazilian president, shouting over the boos that the unusual act of honorary citizenship was meant “to reward the welcome that migrants from Anguillara Veneta have received in Brazil.” More than 1,000 people from the region emigrated to Brazil in the late 1800s, including Bolsonaro’s grandparents and 56 relatives.
Bolsonaro’s citizenship ceremony was held in a 17th-century villa and was followed by a formal black-tie dinner with around 200 people—mostly supporters of Salvini’s far-right Lega party and Brazilian hardliners who were part of Bolsonaro’s entourage. The gala event cost local taxpayers around €10,000, according to local media.
On Tuesday, Salvini accompanied Bolsonaro to Pistoia, Tuscany, where he was met with more protesters including those carrying signs that read, “Bolsonaro Out” and “No Citizenship for Dictators” as he visited a memorial for Brazilian soldiers who lost their lives during World War II.
Italy’s left-leaning parties called the decision to give the controversial leader—who is facing accusations of crimes against humanity for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic—a hero’s welcome a “disgrace” and “shame for Italy.”
