Environmental activist icon Greta Thunberg, who has inspired student ecology protests, has put “pirralha” (“brat” in Portuguese) on her Twitter bio after Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro used the word to slam her.
“Greta said that the Indians died because they were defending the Amazon. It's impressive that the press is giving space to a brat like that,” the country’s head told journalists, using the term “pirralha.”
The 16-year-old, who earlier scolded world politicians for stealing children’s futures and not doing enough to protect the environment, had made claims about indigenous people being killed for protecting the rainforest on Twitter.
“Indigenous people are being literally murdered for trying to protect the forest from illegal deforestation. Over and over again. It is shameful that the world remains silent about this,” she tweeted.
She also shared a clip about an indigenous forest guardian who was wounded by someone shooting from a passing car. According to the report, two other tribe members were killed and one other was wounded in Maranhão, Brazil. Her offensive came amid the UN international climate change conference, where participants criticised Brazil's environmental policies, the Daily Mail reports.
Greta Thunberg and Vladimir Putin
Thunberg has already changed her profile in response to her other high-profile critics. For example, in October, she adjusted her bio on Twitter, setting it to “A kind but poorly informed teenager,” seemingly in response to remarks made by Russian President Vladimir Putin about her.