Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday responded with foul language to journalists who denounced irregularities in costly public food purchases made amid the pandemic.
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"When I see the press attacking me and saying I bought two and a half million cans of condensed milk, [my response is] go fu#% yourselves, shitty press," Bolsonaro said at a private event whose video was leaked to social media.
"Let the press shove those condensed milk cans up to their as#%#," the far-right politician said as his supporters cheered and laughed enthusiastically.
The event was attended by high-level officials such as Foreign Affairs Minister Ernesto Araujo, who also applauded the Brazilian president's insults.
Previously, local outlets published information showing that the 2020 food spending reached US$360 million, which implied an increase of 20 percent over the previous year.
The budget data also revealed that the federal government spent US$440,000 on chewing gum and US$3 million on condensed milk, which are two non-essential products for social programs.
The Bolsonaro administration argued that these products were purchased mainly for military personnel because condensed milk has a high energy value and chewing gum helps preserve oral hygiene.
In response to the criticism unleashed against his father, Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro ratified and justified the attacks against Brazilian journalists.
"With the worst of intentions, they insult us with everything. They call us from Nazis to genocides. And, do we have to respect them? Do we have to argue rationally? Of course, we don't. That's the right language against those asses," he said.