On Monday, Italians gathered in Anguillara Veneta to reject the presence of Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, who went to the his great-grandfather's town to receive the honorary citizenship granted by Mayor Alessandra Buoso.
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The politician linked to the far-right party La Liga justified her decision by arguing that Bolsonaro was democratically elected, represents Brazil in the G20, and his great-grandfather emigrated from that town in 1888. These arguments, however, were not enough to prevent the gardens the mayor's office woke up covered in manure.
“That he visits the city where his family comes from is fair, but it is not fair that they grant him honorary citizenship and present him as a role model,” Councilman Antonio Spada said.
"It is not enough that great-grandfather Vittorio was born in Anguillara in 1878... According to the city council... one can become an honorary citizen even if one is a criminal," an anti-fascist militant said, as reported by local outlet Il Fatto Quotidiano.
Militants from left-wing parties, trade unionists, college students, and activists from the National Anti-Fascist Association of Italy (ANPI) took to the central square of Anguillara Veneta to reject a Brazilian politician who has been accused of crimes against humanity.
The tweet reads, “He thought he would get out unscathed! What a mistake! Protests and banners in Anguillara Veneta due to honorary citizenship for Bolsonaro. The banner reads, ‘We stand by the side of the Brazilian people. Out with Bolsonaro’."
“Bolsonaro is fascist, homophobic and racist. Besides devastating the Amazon forests with his policies, he has killed thousands of people ... Out with Bolsonaro,” stressed Letizia, a young Italian woman.
Among the most outraged protesters was the Italian missionary Massimo Ramundo, who lived 20 years in Brazil, 12 of them in Marañon, a state located in the Amazon area.
“He is a disgrace. I am furious with the Mayor. She does not know what Bolsonaro has done. She has not heard his hateful statements against Indigenous peoples, vaccinated citizens, and women. He wants to turn the Amazon into a business. He does not respect the values of Pope Francis,” Ramundo stressed.