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Diplomats watch the video of Roberto Alvim who led his resignation on January 17 in Washington. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP

Brazilian Secretary of Culture Roberto Alvim resigned on Friday January 17 after causing a scandal with a speech paraphrasing the words of Nazi propaganda leader Joseph Goebbels.

It is a video announcing the creation of a National Arts Prize which is the reason for Roberto Alvim's resignation. Broadcast on Thursday evening, it shows the Brazilian culture official giving a speech in a dark costume, in particular extolling " the fatherland, the family, the courage of the people and its deep connection with God as the anchor of public policies ", very present in far-right rhetoric.

But it is a precise sentence which will cause scandal. " The Brazilian art of the next decade will be heroic and national (...) while being imperative, because linked to the urgent aspirations of our people, or will not be, " says the strong man of Culture of the government of extreme right Bolsonaro, with background opera Lohengrin by Richard Wagner, Hitler's favorite composer.

This sentence is very similar to that attributed to Goebbels in the book Goebbels, biography , by Peter Longerich: " German art for the next decade will be heroic, it will be romantic in steel, it will be objective and free from sentimentality, it will be national, full of pathos, imperative, or it will not be ”.

Calls for resignation were then heard from all sides. “ The Secretary of Culture has crossed the line. This is unacceptable. The government should remove him from his duties as a matter of urgency ”, said the president of the Chamber of Deputies Rodrigo Maia on Twitter. The Israelite Confederation of Brazil also considered the speech " unacceptable " and demanded the departure of Roberto Alvim. His position is the equivalent of that of Minister of Culture, a portfolio that simply disappeared under the Bolsonaro government after being absorbed by that of Citizenship, in the same way as Sports.

" In view of the discomfort caused by this lamentable episode, I immediately submitted my resignation to President Jair Bolsonaro, in order to protect him, " the man said on Friday in a message posted on Facebook. He specifies that his speech was written " from ideas related to nationalist art submitted by (his) assistants ". " If I had known the origin of the sentence, I would never have pronounced it, " he added, affirming his " deep rejection of all totalitarian and Nazi regimes ". " I apologize to the Jewish community, for which I have the deepest respect, " he continued.

A few minutes later, Jair Bolsonaro confirmed on Twitter the departure of his secretary of Culture " because of unfortunate words that made its maintenance impossible ". The head of state also expressed his " rejection of totalitarian and genocidal ideologies, such as Nazism and communism ", as well as his " total and unrestricted support for the Jewish community ".

- Reitero nosso repúdio às ideologias totalitárias e genocidas, como o nazismo eo comunismo, bem como qualquer tipo de ilação às mesmas. Manifestamos também nosso total e irrestrito apoio à comunidade judaica, da qual somos amigos e compartilhamos muitos valores em comum.

Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) January 17, 2020

When he took office in November, the Secretary of Culture had promised to wage " a cultural war " against " progressive forces ".

(With AFP)