Due to Criticism and Pressure, Bolsonaro Cancels Trip to the U.S.

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4 May 2019

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Brasilia, May 4 (Prensa Latina) Due to strong criticism and pressure, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro declined to travel to New York, where on May 14 the Brazil-U.S. Chamber of Commerce would declare him Person of the Year, official sources confirmed on Saturday.

Bolsonaro cancelled the trip because of 'the resistance and deliberate attacks of the mayor of New York (Bill de Blasio) and the pressure of interest groups on the institutions that organize, sponsor and host the annual event,' said Otavio Rego, a government spokesman.

Bill de Blasio described the former army captain as a 'very dangerous human being'.

U.S. Senator Brad Hoylman welcomed the news that the far-right politician desisted from going to New York for the tribute at the Marriot Marquis Hotel in Times Square.

Victoria: We denounced the homophobic president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, and we won. According to Brazilian news, he retired from the event at the Marriott Marquis and cancelled his trip to the United States. Hatred has no place in New York. #CancelBolsonaro', Hoylman wrote on Twitter.

In April, the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce named Bolsonaro as the person of the year 2019 and invited him to attend a gala dinner in New York this month.

Each year, the board elects two personalities, one Brazilian and one American, and awards them at its gala dinner for more than 1,000 people.

For this occasion, the camera first rented a space in the American Museum of Natural History. But then the institution desisted from organizing the ceremony because of negative reactions to the presence of the Brazilian ex-military and because it was not 'the ideal place' for the tribute.

Sponsoring companies, such as Delta Air Lines, Bain and Company and The Financial Times, also announced that they would not attend the event.

A defender of the dictatorship (1964-1985), Bolsonaro, 63, is better known for his racist and homophobic questioning and statements than for his projects for 27 years as a deputy and now as president.

When he won the elections in October, The Economist magazine warned that 'the Brazilians made a terrible choice' and described Bolsonaro as a 'supporter of dictators and weapons, who incites the police to kill suspects, who threatens to ban opponents and diminish women, blacks and gays'.