Brazil’s Bolsonaro calls activist Greta Thunberg a “brat”

FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2019 file photo, President Jair Bolsonaro attends a ceremony to launch an agro program at the Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil. Alter do Chao, a sleepy Amazon town, has become the flashpoint for the growing hostility between Bolsonaro and environmental groups following the arrest of firefighters he says set rainforest fires. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File) FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2019 file photo, President Jair Bolsonaro attends a ceremony to launch an agro program at the Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil. Alter do Chao, a sleepy Amazon town, has become the flashpoint for the growing hostility between Bolsonaro and environmental groups following the arrest of firefighters he says set rainforest fires. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)

By MARCELO DE SOUSA / Associated Press December 10, 2019 2 min read

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday called young Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg a “brat” after she expressed concern about the slayings of indigenous Brazilians in the Amazon.

Bolsonaro questioned the coverage news media have given Thunberg, 16, who on Sunday tweeted a link to a story about the murder of two indigenous people in Brazil’s Maranhao state.

“Greta said that the Indians died because they were defending the Amazon,” Bolsonaro told a group of journalists. “It’s impressive that the press is giving space to a brat like that,” he added, using the Portuguese word word “pirralha.”

Following Bolsonaro’s comments, Thunberg changed the bio on her Twitter profile to say “Pirralha.”

Climate activist Greta Thunberg participates in a news conference at the COP25 Climate summit in Madrid, Spain, Monday, Dec. 9, 2019. Thunberg is in Madrid where a global U.N.-sponsored climate change conference is taking place. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)

Thunberg became a symbol for youth demanding radical change to confront climate change when she sparked global school strikes.