A reporter denounced aggression by the president of the local city council of Matozinhos, in the state of Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil, after a meeting on Monday, Feb. 27, in which the council approved a 34 percent hike in members' salaries, reported the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.
On his news site, the journalist, Osvaldo Mesquita, published a video in which he questions the arguments of the mayor, Manuel Oba, in favor of a salary increase. Oba then approached the journalist and broke his camera. Mesquita reported the incident to police.
According to Folha, the politician defended the increase, saying, "The council takes people to the hospital, pays for basic supplies and for medicine" for the public, and thus council members deserve the higher, "more fair" salaries.
