Brazil's Bolsonaro praises 1973 military coup in Chile

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has criticized the U.N. human rights chief, who is from Chile, by praising that country’s 1973 military coup.

Bolsonaro said Wednesday that Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, “forgets that her country is not Cuba” because of Chile’s coup.

Speaking in Geneva, the U.N. official and former Chilean president raised concerns about an increasing rate of killings by police in Brazil as well as alleged restrictions on civil liberties.

Bolsonaro says Brazil is democratic and Bachelet’s remarks amount to meddling in Brazil’s affairs.

The Brazilian leader also referred to Bachelet’s father Alberto, an air force officer who opposed the 1973 coup and was imprisoned and tortured. He died in 1974.

A former army captain, Bolsonaro has repeatedly praised Brazil’s own former military regime.