MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolsonaro lashes back at DiCaprio over social media postings

Bolsonaro claimed DiCaprio did not know about his government's environmental commitments... or “maybe you do know” but choose to remain unaware

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro once again aimed his cannons at US actor Leonardo DiCaprio for his denunciations of the devastation of the Amazon.

“- You again, Leo? This way, you will become my best electoral cable, as we say in Brazil! I could tell you, again, to give up your yacht before lecturing the world, but I know progressives: you want to change the entire world but never yourselves, so I will let you off the hook,” Bolsonaro said on Twitter.

- Thanks for your support, Leo! It's really important to have every Brazilian voting in the coming elections. Our people will decide if they want to keep our sovereignty on the Amazon or to be ruled by crooks who serve foreign special interest. Good job in The Revenant! https://t.co/kg3b6rmPCw

— Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) April 29, 2022

DiCaprio is a leading climate activist who usually takes it to his social media to generate awareness with shocking postings against world leaders who do not abide by world preservation standards - and Bolsonaro is one of his favorite targets for his neglect of the Amazon.

“How extensive is the deforestation in the Amazon, one of the most important places on the planet for people and wildlife?” DiCaprio wrote. “According to this map from @mapbiomas, the region has faced an avalanche of illegal deforestation at the hands of the extractive industry in the last 3 years,” he added.

“Between us, it is rare to see a guy who pretends to love the planet paying more attention to Brazil than to the fires damaging Europe and his own country,” Bolsonaro went on. ”One may wonder if he is obsessed with my country (or its resources)...“

”But don't worry, Leo, unlike the places you pretend not to see by brilliantly playing the role of a blind man, Brazil is and will remain the nation that preserves the most. You can keep playing with your Hollywood star toys while we do our job,“ the retired Army captain added.

”Actually, in my government, the average deforestation is much lower than in the past, when the thief-turned-candidate [former President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva]was in power. It is clear that all those who attack Brazil and its sovereignty for the sake of virtue signaling have no idea about the matter. They do not know, for example, that we preserve more than 80% of our native vegetation or that we have the cleanest energy among the G20 nations.“

”They also clearly don't know that my government announced a new commitment to eradicate illegal deforestation by 2028, not 2030 like most countries. Or maybe you do know, but for some reason you pretend to be unaware. I hope you don't get too much for this paper,“ Bolsonaro insisted.

'If it's within your power, we'd love for you to stop spreading misinformation,” Bolsonaro finished his social media diatribe against the Hollywood star.

Bolsonaro had accused DiCaprio in the past of financing NGOs that, he claimed, were involved in intentional fires in the Amazon, and on Thursday he also decried as “false” the “narrative about international isolation” of the Brazilian government, which his meeting last June with US President Joseph Biden in California and the recent lifting of US restrictions on the import of Brazilian steel would prove.