An angry protest during a tribute to former deputy minister Miguel Relvas by the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in Brazil was carried out last week by a group of Portuguese emigrants living in Rio de Janeiro, where the ceremony took place.
Relvas was approached by the group and engaged in conversation, but walked away when he became the target of sarcasm in their comments.
They shouted accusations such as “thief” and “crook” as security guards attempted to persuade them to leave.
“This man is robbing my country and you are honouring him,” one of the emigrants cried, directing their wrath towards the organisers of the event.
The whole encounter was filmed and has already gone viral on the Internet.
Former deputy minister and minister for parliamentary affairs Miguel Relvas, in office between 2011 and 2013, resigned in April following controversy surrounding the way he obtained his academic qualifications from Lisbon’s Lusófona University.
