Chile summoned Brazil’s ambassador to Santiago on Monday after “false news” published by Jair Bolsonaro against his counterpart Gabriel Borich, implying that he “set fire to the subway”, the foreign ministry announced on Monday, AFP reported.

Gabriel Boric, a former student leader elected president of Chile in November at the age of 35, has been involved in the anti-government protests that have rocked Chile in 2019, demanding greater social justice.

Riots that began among young people against the increase in subway ticket prices quickly turned violent, several metro stations in Santiago were set on fire.

On Sunday night, during the first debate in the October 2 presidential election, Brazil’s far-right president hinted that Gabriel Boric was involved in the fires.

Bolsonaro intended to attack his main rival, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the favorite in the polls: “I supported the president of Chile, the one who set fire to the subway, and look where Chile is going,” he said after Lula’s recount. support for several recently elected left-wing governments in Latin America, such as that of Gustavo Petro in August in Colombia.

“We consider these statements very serious. It is clear that they are completely false, and we regret that bilateral relations are being exploited and polarized in an electoral context through disinformation and fake news,” said Chile’s Foreign Minister Antonio Urrejola.

The minister said that the official letter of protest will be handed over to the summoned ambassador of Brazil.