São Paulo

American linguist Noam Chomsky compared Jair Bolsonaro to Donald Trump and said on Wednesday (15) that the two presidents compete "to see who could be the worst criminal on the planet."

Recognized as the founder of modern linguistics, the American is professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and professor at the University of Arizona. He is also a philosopher and author of more than one hundred books. Left-wing activist, he is critical of American foreign policy, capitalism and has won numerous awards.

Noam Chomsky (File Photo: Danilo Verpa/Folhapress) - Folhapress

In an interview with the independent journalism program "Democracy Now!", Chomsky talked about Trump's conduct in front of the country most affected by the coronavirus pandemic when he referred to Bolsonaro as a "madman from the southern part of the hemisphere."

"While Trump is directing us to destruction, he gets some such stupid help in the southern part of the hemisphere," said Chomsky. "There is another madman, Jair Bolsonaro, who is trying to compete with Trump to see who could be the worst criminal on the planet."

Chomsky also criticized Bolsonaro. The linguist recalled, for example, occasions when the president downplayed the severity of Covid-19, a disease caused by the coronavirus.

"He is telling Brazilians that it is nothing, that it is just a cold, that Brazilians do not get viruses, that they are immune to them," he said.

Bolsonaro referred to Covid-19 as "a little flu" and "little cold" during a national broadcast on March 24.

Translated by Kiratiana Freelon

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