Bolsonaro: Severe hunger isn’t an issue in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says severe hunger is not a problem for the country.

Bolsonaro acknowledged Friday that things could “go bad” and people might “not eat well.” But, he added: “To speak of starving in Brazil is a big lie.”

Brazil is teetering on the brink of a new recession and poverty has been increasing, leading experts to worry that severe hunger could rise.

The president said there are no people in Brazil with “skeletal physiques as you see in some other countries.”

Brazil was removed from the U.N. hunger map in 2004, and the Food and Agriculture Organization says less than 2.5% of Brazilians were undernourished the past three years.

Government data indicate 54.8 million Brazilians are poor, about 26.5% of the population.