A frequent and fiery critic of Brazil’s media, President Jair Bolsonaro declared Wednesday he would no longer speak to journalists.
Bolsonaro made the remarks outside his official residence in Brasilia where most mornings for the past year he has fielded questions from reporters and greeted fans. “I want to speak with you, but the national journalism association says that when I speak, I attack them,” Bolsonaro told reporters.
“As I am a person of peace, I will not give more interviews.”
The move comes after the National Federation of Journalists said last week Bolsonaro’s presidency had “significantly affected the freedom of the press in Brazil.”
It registered 208 attacks — including physical and verbal — against the media or journalists in 2019, an increase of 54 percent compared with the previous year.