The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, swam and walked through the sands of Copacabana beach, in Rio de Janeiro, relaxed and said, this Saturday, that “in Brazil there are never problems.”
The presence of the Portuguese head of state in Copacabana, on a winter morning in Brazil, surprised the people who were in that part of the beach. Some approached and asked for photographs.
“I wish Brazil had a president like that,” said Andreia, a carioca married to a Portuguese woman, who then went to call her husband, Vítor, a native of Porto, to take a selfie with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
The President of the Republic dived together with the Minister of Culture, Pedro Adão e Silva, in the waters of Copacabana, where they swam for about fifteen minutes, accompanied by two security guards.
Coming out of the sea, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa walked for a while and entertained himself by talking to two young women lying on the sand.
A street vendor observing the scene from a distance exclaimed: “Who doesn’t like Copacabana, this beautiful, wonderful, famous beach that even the President is here?” If he were the president of Brazil, he added, “this would be surrounded by security and you wouldn’t be able to be here.”
On the seashore, in a bathing suit, the head of state referred to his diving partner, the Minister of Culture, as “an expert, a great surfer”. Pedro Adão e Silva declared that he had “better days”.
Addressing the journalists, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa asked: “You don’t want to dive, do you? So stay out. It was great to be filming from the inside. They had to bring equipment for that.”
The Minister of Culture, which oversees the media, warned: “The public service was expensive.”
On this occasion, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was consulted once again about “the problem” that arose on this trip: the eventual cancellation by the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, of the invitation he had made to him for a meeting followed by a lunch in Brasilia on Monday fair.
“But what problem? I just don’t see any problems. In Brazil there are never any problems, it’s something I learned. My grandfather came here at the end of the 19th century. I learned that in Brazil, what seems like a problem is not a problem, it just seems like a problem”, replied the President.
Pedro Adão e Silva commented that the sea “was good for racing”.
Asked if he is prepared for all waves, the President of the Republic replied: “I don’t see waves. Bigger than these I don’t see any.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa arrived in Rio de Janeiro this morning for a commemorative session of the aerial crossing of the South Atlantic carried out one hundred years ago by Sacadura Cabral and Gago Coutinho, in the port area of the city center.
Later, his program includes a reception for the Portuguese community, at the Portuguese Consulate General, in Botafogo.
Even today he will travel from Rio to São Paulo, where he will be at the official opening of the 26th International Book Biennial, which in this edition has Portugal as the honored country.
Source: Observadora
