A Brazilian politician called the 'chainsaw queen' threw a glass of wine in the face of a senator who called her a 'man-eater'

Brazil's agricultural minister Kátia Abreu, known by her critics as the "chainsaw queen," chucked a glass of wine into the face of a powerful São Paulo senator after he insulted her at a dinner party attended by dozens of other politicians on Wednesday night.

An account of the argument was detailed by The New York Times.

The spat kicked off when 73-old-year old José Serra, the leader of the opposition Social Democracy Party, told Abreu: "they say you're a woman who likes to date a lot." He used a term that's equivalent to "man-eater," the Times said.

Abreu responded: "You're an inelegant, impolite, arrogant man. That's why you'll never get to the presidency of the republic," according to the Times' report.

She then threw a glass of wine in Serra's face.

Abreu earned her unflattering nickname from environmentalists who accuse her of loosening laws to protect the Amazon rainforest. She has also been called "Miss Deforestation" and "the face of evil," according to a 2014 Guardian profile. That report also referred to Abreu as the "most interesting, important, and dangerous," rising politician in Brazil.

In the midst of this scuffle, Brazil is going through a major economic and political crisis, which has seen impeachment proceedings undertaken against President Dilma Rousseff.

Abreu, who was appointed agriculture minister by Rousseff last year, is a strong supporter of the president while Serra is in favour of impeaching her.