Brazil’s Supreme Court releases video of Bolsonaro discussing replacing security officials

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was overheard in a new video released by the country’s Supreme Court on a vocal tirade against his security officials, railing against laws preventing him from replacing them.

Bolsonaro went on a profane rant about how he believed it was his prerogative to dismiss security officials, their bosses and government ministers.

“I’ve tried to change our security people in Rio de Janeiro officially, and I wasn’t able to. That’s over. I won’t wait for my family or my friends to get screwed,” Bolsonaro said in the video, according to a translation from Reuters. 

“If you can’t change [the official], change his boss. You can’t change the boss? Change the minister. End of story. We’re not kidding around,” he added.

The release of the video comes at a particularly precarious time for Bolsonaro, who is grappling with accusations that he pressured former Justice Minister Sergio Moro to replace senior federal police officials who were investigating his allies. The accusations have sparked a criminal probe into the president’s conduct. 

Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing and has said he at no time interfered with federal police.

The Brazilian president has also come under fire for his handling of the coronavirus. Brazil has seen a spike in cases in recent weeks and now has the second highest number of cases in the world behind the U.S.