Brazilian official brands Germany’s Merz ‘Nazi’

The Rio de Janeiro mayor’s remark comes after the chancellor spoke disparagingly of another Brazilian city that hosted a climate summit

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is a “Nazi,” the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, has said. The now-deleted X post came in response to Merz’s disparaging comment about another Brazilian city, Belem, which hosted the UN Climate Summit.

The German chancellor spent a day at the international event earlier this month. On returning to Berlin, he shared his impressions of the city in northern Brazil with the attendees of a trade conference in the German capital last Thursday.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world,” Merz said, adding: “last week, I asked some journalists who were with me in Brazil: ‘Who among you would like to stay here?’ Not one hand raised. They were all glad that we had returned to Germany, especially from this place we had just been to.”

Hey Chancellor @_FriedrichMerz, far be it from me to spread gossip, but the mayor of Rio de Janeiro called you a son of Hitler, a bum, and a Nazi.

Harsh, right? pic.twitter.com/fpneMtnE9g

— TeAtualizei 🇧🇷👊🏻❤️ (@taoquei1) November 18, 2025

His remark has caused a stir in Brazil this week, with a number of officials expressing outrage at what they perceived as contempt for their country by a Western leader.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Rio de Janeiro mayor Paes described Merz as a “Son of Hitler! Tramp! Nazi!” The Brazilian official deleted the post soon afterward, writing in another message that the tirade was his “way of letting off steam today.”

READ MORE: Latin America is China’s laboratory in Washington’s ‘backyard’

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva suggested that Merz only has himself to blame for failing to enjoy the delights of Belem to the fullest, saying the Brazilian city compares favorably with Berlin.

In a post on X, the governor of Para state where Belem is located, Helder Barbalh wrote: “it’s curious to see those who helped warm the planet find the Amazon’s heat strange.”

Speaking on Wednesday, the German chancellor stood by his controversial statement.

“I said that Germany is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and I assume President Lula will accept that,” Merz said.

While Merz’s choice of words has not created as much of a splash at home, he has received some criticism.

Katharina Droge from the Green Party said the “image the Chancellor projected during his trip to Brazil was disastrous.”