Brazilian President Luis Inacio da Silva, told listeners to his weekly radio show on Monday that he had been saddened because Brazilians jeered him at Friday's opening ceremony of the 15th Pan-American Games in Rio de Janeiro.
He said that both cheers and jeers had always been a normal part of his political life, but that on Friday he had come to party.
"For me it was as if I had gone to a friend's birthday party and had met a group of people there who did not want to see me," the president said.
He said he was sure that the boos did not reflect the feeling of Rio's citizens, adding that several people had told him that the jeers had been organized, and that booers had received special invitations, which meant the organizers had been involved.
"That does not interest me. The important thing is that it was an amazing opening ceremony. It will not affect my behavior relating to Rio one iota," he added.
On Friday, all six mentions of the president's name received loud jeers. As a result, Lula, as the president is known in Brazil, broke with tradition and handed over to Games Committee Organizer, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, who formally opened the Games.
It was such a last minute decision that many television channels carried an image of Lula at the microphone with the text of the declaration in hand, even as Nuzman was speaking.
Source: Xinhua
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