Brazilian regional government authorities from the state of Pará expressed outrage at German Chancellor Friedrich Merz after he said he and his team were “happy” to leave the city of Belém, the host venue of the ongoing COP30 climate doomer conference.
The Brazilian outlet G1 reported on Monday that Pará governor Helder Barbalho accused Merz of engaging in “prejudiced speech” in his comments regarding Belém, while Belém’s Major Igor Normando said that Merz exuded “prejudice and arrogance in his speech.”
BBC News Brasil detailed Merz’s controversial remarks, which went viral on Brazilian social media circles on Monday, were issued last week during the Chancellor’s participation at the Trade Congress Germany in Berlin. Merz, speaking to his audience, “disparagingly” compared Brazil to Germany, and said that his country was one of the “most beautiful in the world.” The Chancellor stressed that all German journalists who attended COP30 in Belém were “happy” to leave the city.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. I asked some journalists who were with me in Brazil last week: ‘Who among you would like to stay here?’ No one raised their hand. Everyone was happy that we returned to Germany on Friday night, especially from that place where we were,” Merz said.
The German Chancellor’s remarks were met with condemnation and criticism from outraged Brazilians. Pará Governor Barbalho shared a clip of Merz’s remarks on his social media accounts with Portuguese subtitles, and condemned Merz’s as a “prejudiced speech” that, he asserted, “reveals more about the speaker than the subject.”
“The future calls for fewer promises and more concrete support for those who protect the forests. I would like to take this opportunity to ask another question: who here is proud of Pará and Brazil? Raise your hand and speak out against all forms of prejudice,” the Governor’s message read.
Similarly, Belém Mayor Normando lashed out against Merz’s “arrogant and prejudiced” words through a video clip posted on his official Instagram account. In the video, Normando said that he thanked God for Merz’s speech not representing “what most of the world’s population has thought of our city.”
View this post on Instagram
“The Amazonia ambassador, in case you don’t know, helped the whole world breathe, and now it’s your time to know the reality of the forest people and have empathy to help the forest people to develop with balance and sustainability,” Normando said.
“But I mean that while you come with your arrogance We Paránese, Beléneses, Amazonians we will offer what exists best to us, that is our human warmth, our welcome and our love. Each one gives what it has,” he continued.
Deutsche Welle (DW) explained that Merz spent less than a day in Belém for last week’s COP30 high-level summit hosted by Leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. According to DW, Merz spent 11 hours on a plane, 20 hours on the ground, and 11 hours on the flight back to Germany.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.