"Outrageous comparison" Merz insults Brazilians - and pretends nothing happened

Following negative statements about Belém, the venue for the climate conference, Brazil is outraged by Friedrich Merz. He refuses to acknowledge his misconduct - and to apologize.

DPA

19.11.2025, 20:49

19.11.2025, 20:59

dpa

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz does not consider German-Brazilian relations to have been strained by his much-criticized comments about the Brazilian city of Belém.

"I said that Germany is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and President Lula will probably accept that," said the CDU chairman at a press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Berlin.

He will speak with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, at the weekend "completely unencumbered". Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius had previously said that Merz would not apologize.

"Unfortunate, arrogant and prejudiced"

Following his visit to the climate conference in Belém, the German head of government spoke at a trade conference in Berlin about his impressions of the poor city of millions on the Amazon.

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"I asked some journalists who were with me in Brazil last week: Which of you would like to stay here? No one raised their hand," he said. "They were all happy that we returned to Germany from the place where we were on Friday night." People live in Germany "in one of the most beautiful countries in the world".

The last sentence was the message Merz wanted to convey with his statement. It was received very differently in Brazil. After a few days' delay, the outrage broke out.

A number of Brazilian media picked up on the remark. The news portal "Diário do Centro do Mundo" wrote of an "outrageous comparison". The mayor of the city also reacted to Merz's statements, describing them as "unfortunate, arrogant and prejudiced".

Lula: Merz should have danced in Belém

The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, reportedly posted on X that he was "not as polite" as his friends in Pará, and wrote to Merz: "Son of Hitler! Son of a bitch! Nazi!" He deleted the post shortly afterwards and wrote instead: "That was my frustration release today. Stay calm in the Foreign Ministry. Long live the friendship between Brazil and Germany."

Lula also had his say. Merz should have gone to a bar, danced there and tried the local cuisine, "because then he would have realized that Berlin doesn't even offer him ten percent of the quality that the state of Pará and the city of Belém offer," he said.

Lula had deliberately chosen the city of Belém, which is poor even by Brazilian standards, as the host city, despite major logistical problems such as a lack of hotel beds. The left-wing politician wanted to show the world the climate crisis in the Amazon and at the same time the harsh social reality in a metropolis of millions in the Global South.

Merz was only in Belém for 20 hours

Merz only spent around 20 hours in Belém. He flew from Germany to Brazil on his government plane in the evening and arrived in Belém during the night. The next day, he attended a one-day program at the climate conference, which was held in a huge, closed-off congress center.

Merz gained his impressions of the city mainly on the convoy rides to and from the airport. In the evening, however, there was a boat trip to a restaurant on the Amazon, where he had an appointment for dinner with business representatives.

The scene that Merz described at the trade congress took place during a background discussion with journalists at his four-star hotel. "The comment essentially referred to the delegation's desire to return home after a very strenuous night flight and a long day in Belém," said Kornelius.

"Small hierarchy" of the most beautiful countries in the world

The government spokesperson contradicted the interpretation that the Chancellor had made "displeasing" or even "disgusted" remarks about the city on the Amazon. "He said that we live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world and he was referring to Germany," explained Kornelius.

Brazil is certainly also one of the most beautiful countries in the world. "But I don't think it's reprehensible for the German Chancellor to make a small hierarchy here."

Nevertheless, some in Germany recalled a debate that Merz had actually thought was over. The fact that Merz had spoken of problems in the German cityscape in connection with migration will probably haunt him throughout his time in office. The German news magazine "Der Spiegel" ran the headline "Merz doesn't like the cityscape in Brazil" in its morning newsletter.

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There were individual calls for an apology, for example from the left and Greenpeace. "We are beginning to wonder whether the Chancellor can appear anywhere at all without putting Germany in need of an explanation," Katharina Dröge, co-chair of the Green parliamentary group in the Bundestag, told the German Press Agency. "The image that the Chancellor presented during his trip to Brazil was fatal: tactless in terms of foreign policy, unambitious in terms of climate policy and simply disrespectful towards Brazil."

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Environment Minister Carsten Schneider was put through the wringer by Brazilian journalists at the conference. "Belém is the best venue imaginable for a competition where the global climate is at stake," he said - not only with regard to the Amazon, but also the vibrancy and "soul" of the city.

He himself had followed Lula's advice and got to know the nature and "warmth of the people" in the region. "What I haven't done is dance. I don't think that's going to happen with my calendar either."

Schneider met Lula in the afternoon. "I asked him to pass on my warm greetings to President Lula," said Merz. He himself was looking forward to his meeting with Lula at the G20 in Johannesburg.