Bolsonaro’s son criticised for suggesting Brazil’s government adopt dictatorship-era tactics

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday

Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

One of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's sons has been criticised for suggesting that the government adopt dictatorship-era tactics if they are deemed necessary to control street protests.

Protests and riots which have taken place in several other South American countries such as Chile in recent weeks could be stopped if they ever happened in his homeland, Eduardo Bolsonaro said in a social media video.

Chile's president Sebastian Pinera was forced to call off the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting (APEC) and the United Nation’s COP25 climate summit scheduled for later this year after widespread violence and protests across the country demanding greater economic equality. Eighteen people have died.

Mr Bolsonaro said that in order to prevent this in Brazil a decree similar to one issued in 1968 by Brazil's military dictatorship could be put in place.

Four years after ousting democratically elected President João Goulart in a coup, the decree stripped opposition lawmakers of political rights and suspended some constitutional guarantees.

The younger Bolsonaro, who is also a politician, serving as the leader of his father's Social Liberal Party in the Congress' lower house, said the new decree could be introduced "if the left radicalises to that point."

Politicians from all sides, including the heads of the Lower House and Senate, as well as a Supreme Court justice, called the comments anti-democratic.

President Bolsonaro himself said in a televised interview that he regretted his son's comments.

Eduardo Bolsonaro later apologised.

His father, a former army captain who openly admires former dictators, was elected in October. The far-right leader has sparked controversy with racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments.

He had planned to celebrate the anniversary of the coup in March, but a judge barred the proposed commemoration, which again provoked widespread criticism.

The 21 years of military rule which followed were marked by brutal repression and heavy censorship.

A 2014 national truth commission found that more than 400 people disappeared or were killed, and thousands more were detained and tortured before democracy was restored in 1985.