Bolsonaro Says He Is Victim of the "Greatest Character Assassination Campaign" in Recent History

01/09/2018 - 11h00

On Monday (the 8th), Federal Congressman Jair Bolsonaro (PSC-RJ Party), a presidential pre-candidate, and his three sons who also hold public offices complained on social networks about articles published in Folha related to the multiplication of their family wealth and their receipt of governmental cost-of-living assistance.

According to Bolsonaro he is the victim of the "greatest character assassination campaign" in recent history.

Folha sent a list of 32 questions to the four legislators last week but hadn't received a response from any of them.

Bolsonaro and his sons criticized Folha on social networks, demanding that reports also be done on his competitors and declaring that there was a conspiracy plot between his opponents and the media.

Their complaints, however, practically didn't address any of the points brought up in the reporting.

The articles revealed that Bolsonaro and his sons have multiplied their family wealth during their terms, and have accumulated 13 properties in high-value locations in Rio and Brasília, with an estimated market value of at least R$ 15 million (US$ 4.63 million).

Folha also revealed that the presidential pre-candidate and his son, Eduardo, a Federal Congressman as well, receive R$ 6,167 (US$ 1,903) per month in cost-of-living assistance from the Congress even though they have their own apartment in Brasília.

"Brazil is in the midst of the greatest character assassination campaign in recent history being played out by the media. It's actually kind of funny, with so many scandals and so much real crime in politics, that they would focus on my totally legal activities. They have chosen to live in a fantasy world where I am evil", Bolsonaro wrote on Twitter.

Translated by LLOYD HARDER

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	Joel Silva/Folhapress
	Eduardo and Jair Bolsonaro receive R$ 6,167 (US$ 1,903) per month in cost-of-living assistance from the Congress