Look for da Silva Whining

Lula da Silva, president of Brazil and darling of the international socialist set, is out of sorts. Piqued by a New York Times story insinuating that he's a lush, da Silva has had the reporter, Larry Rohter, ejected from the country. Here's The Guardian's synopsis of the events.

Brazil's justice ministry revoked the visa held by the New York Times correspondent Larry Rohter, describing a recent article as "offensive to the honour of the president".

Rohter, a veteran Latin American correspondent, had suggested that the former union leader may have been limiting his public appearances because of over-indulgence on beer and cachaca, a potent sugar-cane spirit.

Government and opposition politicians at first united to condemn the article as unsourced and slanderous, while Brazil's presidential palace threatened legal action against the New York Times, which has stood by the story.

"This is not about freedom of speech," said the foreign minister Celso Amorim. "It's about story that is libellous, injurious and false. We never acted against anyone who criticised Brazil's internal or foreign policy but it is another thing to offend the honour of the chief of state."

Of course, if it really is a libelous piece, they could actually sue the guy instead of just threatening to do so. As it stands, with the reporter not found guilty of any crime, his expulsion makes opposition senator Tasso Jereissati's characterization of da Silva seem entirely accurate: "This is ridiculous," Jereissati is quoted as saying, "it's more like the immature act of a dictator of a third-rate republic who does not understand what government is about."

Posted by Andrew Coulson at May 13, 2004 12:06 AM | TrackBack