Chile on Monday summoned Brazil’s ambassador in Santiago after President Jair Bolsonaro accused his counterpart Gabriel Boric of arson during opposition protests three years ago, Chile’s foreign minister said.
A former student leader, Boric took part in anti-government protests in Santiago in 2019 sparked by student anger over metro pass price hikes.
During the early days of protests, several metro stations were set on fire.
During a presidential debate with rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday night, the outspoken Brazilian leader Bolsonaro claimed Boric “burnt the metro” and was behind the torching of several stations.
Bolsonaro tried to tie Lula to that incident by pointing to his support for fellow leftist Boric.
“We consider those statements very serious,” Chile’s Foreign Minister Antonio Urrejola said Monday. “Obviously it’s totally false and we regret that bilateral relations are exploited and polarized in an electoral context through disinformation and fake news.”
The minister said the ambassador had been summoned and will be presented with a letter of protest.