German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has come under fire in Brazil for comments made after his visit to the city of Belem, where the UN climate conference (COP30) is taking place, DPA reported, BTA reported.
During a visit to Shanghai, German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil said that Merz's words had caused irritation and Brazilian media and politicians had expressed their dissatisfaction.
The German leader visited Belem two weeks ago for a high-level meeting during the preparations for COP30. The city, located in the northern state of Pará, was chosen by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to highlight the key role of the Amazon in global climate policy.
After returning to Berlin, Merz said he asked the journalists who had traveled with him to Brazil if any of them wanted to stay in Belem. "No one raised their hand", he said, adding that the journalists were "happy" to return to Germany, which he described as "one of the most beautiful countries in the world".
In response, Lula said Merz should have gone to a bar in Belem, danced and tried the local cuisine. "Then he would understand that Berlin cannot offer him even 10% of the quality that the state of Pará and the city of Belem have," he stressed.
Some Brazilian politicians reacted even more sharply. Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes called Merz "the son of Hitler" and a "Nazi" in an article in Ex that he later deleted. Brazilian news portal Día del Centro de la Mundial described the comment about the chancellor as a "scandalous comparison," and the mayor of Belem called it "unfortunate, arrogant and prejudiced."