Italian Town Considers Honorary Citizenship for Brazilian President

ROME, October 22 (Sputnik) - The authorities of the northern Italian town of Anguillara Veneta are considering granting Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, whose great-grandfather was born there, the title of honorary citizen, a member of the regional council of Veneta, Luciano Sandona, told Sputnik on Friday.

Vittorio Bolzonaro was born on April 12, 1878 in Anguillara Veneta, and emigrated to Brazil at the age of ten, where his surname was later changed to fit local pronunciation.

However, the initiative of local authorities drew sharp criticism from prominent representatives of leftist forces in the Veneto region.

The secretary of the regional organization of the Democratic Party, Alessandro Bisato, said that this proposal is "a senseless insult", and the residents of the town "do not deserve such stupidity." Vanessa Camani, a member of the Veneto regional council from the Democratic Party, stressed that this proposal is unacceptable because the Brazilian president is "a racist and misogynist."

"The fact that Bolsonaro is a controversial personality is indubitable. However, the accusations of my colleague Camani against him are certainly exaggerated. After all, we are talking about a head of state who was elected by the people and still has a lot of supporters at home. If he is awarded the title of an honorary citizen in one of the towns of the Veneto region, this will only emphasize the direct connection of the president of a large country with our region, where in the past there were so many emigrants," Sandona told Sputnik.

On Wednesday, a special commission from the Brazilian Senate said Bolsonaro was guilty of nine serious crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The President, in particular, was accused of a crime against humanity, violation of sanitary measures, falsification of documents and irrational use of public funds.

Voting on the issue of conferring the title of honorary citizen of Anguillara Veneto to Bolsonaro will take place in the town council on Monday, October 25.