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In-person Pride events to take place around the world

Activists have scheduled marches, galas, forums

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5 years ago

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Thousands of people attended the Jerusalem March for Pride and Tolerance on June 3, 2021. (Photo courtesy of Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance)

Activists around the world are planning to hold in-person Pride events this year.

Organizers of Tijuana GLBTI Pride in the Mexican border city say a decrease in coronavirus cases has allowed them to hold a march on June 19. Participants will be required to wear masks and socially distance. Tijuana GLBTI Pride organizers also plan to distribute condoms at a gay bar in downtown Tijuana.

“The GLBT community and owners of entertainment venues and establishments in the region have also suffered a blow with the arrival of the pandemic caused by the coronavirus a year ago,” wrote Tijuana GLBTI Pride Coordinator Lorenzo Herrera on his group’s website, noting the decrease in coronavirus cases in Mexico’s Baja California state has allowed businesses to reopen. “It allows for the reopening of establishments like bars and cantinas.”

“This new normality and opening of spaces allowed us to resume planning for the 2021 Pride march,” added Herrera.

The Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration, a Minnesota-based organization that works with LGBTQ migrants and refugees around the world, and Alight on June 13 will hold a digital Pride brunch on both sides of the Mexico-U.S. border with Jardín de las Mariposas, a shelter in Tijuana for LGBTQ migrants and asylum seekers. Frenchie Davis is among those who are scheduled to perform at ORAM’s #RefugeePride Gala on June 17.

Rainbow Sunrise Mapambazuko, an LGBTQ advocacy group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is scheduled to hold a Pride event in the city of Bukavu on June 26.

The Spanish Embassy in D.C. commissioned London Kaye, a Los Angeles-based artist, to create a crocheted mural that features Federico García Lorca, a gay Spanish poet and playwright who Spanish Nationalists executed in 1936 shortly after the country’s Civil War began. The mural is currently displayed above the entrance to the Spanish ambassador’s former home in Columbia Heights.

Tbilisi Pride on July 5 is scheduled to hold a march in the Georgian capital. The group on its Facebook page says the pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on LGBTQ Georgians.

“Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gay people experience oppression and discrimination on a daily basis,” it notes. “Hate groups are constantly trying to stir up hostility in society towards us. By weaponizing homophobia, these groups try to sow discord and divide society or social movements, to discredit various just demands. The state often leaves the criminal activities of violent groups and their leaders unpunished, thereby normalizing violence against (LGBTQ) people and, at the same time hinders development and justice-oriented social, political and economic change.”

“We need to make our voices heard by our family, friends, colleagues, fellow citizens and the state,” proclaimed Tbilisi Pride.

WorldPride 2021, which will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Malmö, Sweden, from Aug. 12-22, will feature both virtual and in-person events. Uganda Pride will hold their Pride events in October, as opposed to this month, because the government has imposed a partial lockdown in response to an increase in COVID-19 cases.

Thousands attend Jerusalem Pride march

Israel is among the countries in which in-person Pride events have already taken place.

Thousands of people attended the annual Jerusalem March for Pride and Tolerance on June 3.

The in-person event took place less than two weeks after a cease fire between Israel and Hamas militants that govern the Gaza Strip took effect. The future of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and tensions over the eviction of several Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood also loomed large over the Jerusalem March for Pride and Tolerance.

Cuba’s National Center for Sexual Education last month held a series of virtual events that commemorated the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.

CENESEX Director Mariela Castro, who is the daughter of former Cuban President Raúl Castro, during a May 4 press conference in Havana announced a bill that would amend the country’s family code will be introduced in Parliament in July. Tremenda Nota, the Washington Blade’s media partner in Cuba, reported Mariela Castro said this year’s IDAHOBiT events are part of the aforementioned effort and will help make Cubans more receptive to LGBTQ rights.

“I was able to appreciate that the majority of the population … is in favor of recognizing the rights of LGBTI+ people and especially the rights in the family sphere that include the possibility, the option, of marriage,” Mariela Castro told reporters on May 4.

U.S. embassies fly Pride flags

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power are among the American officials who have publicly acknowledged Pride month.

Blinken in April said U.S. embassies and consulates can once again fly the Pride flag.

The U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas this month is flying the Pride flag for the first time. Alexus D’Marco, an activist who is a member of LGBTI Bahamas, a Bahamian advocacy group, on Monday referred to Eleanor Roosevelt when she discussed the impact the gesture has had on LGBTQ Bahamians.

“It’s not in protest,” D’Marco told the Blade. “It’s a lead by example effort that may be saying, yes we admit that we may have flaws as countries and in some cases former colonists, but we do this to dissuade you from making the same mistake of thinking that some are better than others. It’s an open invitation to join the changing world, for us the older generations to listen to the voice of the youth who are telling us very clearly and loudly that the future they envision is not one of stigma and discrimination, instead it is one with human rights and dignity for all in a land that is sustainable and full of that ‘the-ness.'”

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Brazil

Transgender woman elected to Brazilian Chamber of Deputies

Thabatta Pimenta is first trans person from northeast Brazil elected to Congress

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7 hours ago

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October 5, 2026

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Thabatta Pimenta will represent Rio Grande do Norte state in the Brazilian Chamber of Deputi

SÃO PAULO — Voters in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Norte state on Sunday elected a transgender woman to the country’s Chamber of Deputies.

Natal Municipal Councilwoman Thabatta Pimenta, who is a member of the Green Party, won with 92,743 votes. She is the first trans woman from northeast Brazil elected to the country’s Congress.

Pimenta became emotional when she was speaking to her supporters after she won. Her brother Ryan, who has cerebral palsy, was by her side.

“This victory belongs to the people of Rio Grande do Norte,” she said. “It is a victory built from the ground up … the people themselves rose up, and you saw the result: today they elected the first female travesti federal deputy from northeast Brazil.”

Pimenta will join Erika Hilton, a travesti member of the leftist Socialism and Liberty (PSOL) party who was a sex worker before her election to the São Paulo Municipal Council, and Duda Salabert, a trans woman and fellow PSOL member from Minas Gerais state, in the Chamber of Deputies.

Hilton on Sunday won re-election with 1,596,472 votes, the most any female member of Congress has received in Brazilian history. Dudabert also won re-election with 215,192 votes.

“Thank you Minas Gerais,” said Dudabert on social media after she won re-election.

Five openly bisexual Chamber of Deputies candidates also won their races on Sunday.

• Guilherme Cortez, a PSOL member in São Paulo state

• Dandara Tonatzin, a member of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s Workers’ Party in Minas Gerais

• Anielle Franco, a Workers’ Party member in Rio de Janeiro state

• Maria Marighella, a Workers’ Party member in Bahia state

• Giovana Mondardo, a Brazilian Communist Party member in Santa Catalina state

Fabio Félix, a gay PSOL member of the Chamber of Deputies who represents the Federal District in which Brasília, the country’s capital, is located won re-election with 224,224 votes. Rick Azevedo, a gay PSOL member from Rio de Janeiro state, won his Chamber of Deputies race.

Daiana Santos, a lesbian Brazilian Communist Party member who represents Rio Grande do Sul state in the Chamber of Deputies, won re-election with 114,315 votes.

Two lesbian women won their Chamber of Deputies campaigns.

• Rosa Amorin, a Workers’ Party member from Pernambuco state

• Bella Gonçalves, a Workers’ Party member from Minas Gerais who is a member of the Belo Horizonte Municipal Council

Samanda de Lula, a lesbian Workers’ Party member, will represent Rio Grande do Norte in the Brazilian Senate.

Rio de Janeiro Municipal Councilwoman Mônica Benício, who is a PSOL member, came up short in her bid for the Senate. Her then-partner, Rio de Janeiro Municipal Councilwoman Marielle Franco, and her driver, Anderson Gomes, were assassinated on March 14, 2018.

Fabiano Contarato, a gay senator from Espíritu Santo who is a member of the Workers’ Party, also lost his re-election bid.

“I receive the election results with respect and serenity,” he said on social media. “The popular will is sovereign, and democracy must always be respected.”

Jean Wyllys is a gay former member of the Chamber of Deputies who previously represented Rio de Janeiro state. He resigned in 2019 and fled Brazil after he received death threats. Wyllys this year ran to represent São Paulo state in the Chamber of Deputies, but he did not win his race.

VoteLGBT, an organization that seeks to increase LGBTQ representation in Brazilian politics, noted 529 openly LGBTQ candidates ran in the election. The group on Sunday said 35 of them won their races across the country.

Natasha Ferreira, a Workers’ Party member, became the first travesti elected to public office in Rio Grande do Sul when she won a seat in the state’s Legislative Assembly. Voters in other states across the country also elected more than 20 LGBTQ candidates to their respective Legislative Assemblies.

• Keka Bagno, a bisexual PSOL member, was elected to the Federal District Legislative Chamber

• Açucena, a lesbian Workers’ Party member, was elected to the Espíritu Santo Legislative Assembly

• Fabricio Rosa, a gay Workers’ Party member, was elected to the Goiás Legislative Assembly

• Iza Lourença, a bisexual PSOL member, was elected to the Minas Gerais Legislative Assembly

• Tiago Botelho, a gay Workers’ Party member, was elected to the Minas Gerais Legislative Assembly

• Flávio Brasileiro, a gay Workers’ Party member, was elected to the Paraíba Legislative Assembly

• Dani Balbi, a trans Brazilian Communist Party member, was elected to the Rio de Janeiro Legislative Assembly

• Verônica Lima, a lesbian Workers’ Party member, was elected to the Rio de Janeiro Legislative Assembly

• Dani Monteiro, a bisexual PSOL member, was elected to the Rio de Janeiro Legislative Assembly

• Jean Volpato, a gay Workers’ Party member, was elected to the Santa Catarina Legislative Assembly

• Linda Brasil, a trans PSOL member, was elected to the Sergipe Legislative Assembly

• Sofia Favero, a trans PSOL member, was elected to the São Paulo Legislative Assembly

• Paula Nunes dos Santos, a bisexual PSOL member, was elected to the São Paulo Legislative Assembly

• Ediane Maria, a bisexual PSOL member, was elected to the São Paulo Legislative Assembly

• Monica das Pretas, a bisexual PSOL member, was elected to the São Paulo Legislative Assembly

• Duda Hidalgo, a bisexual Workers’ Party member, was elected to the São Paulo Legislative Assembly

• Rodrigo Mar, a bisexual Workers’ Party member, was elected to the São Paulo Legislative Assembly

• Thainara Faria, a bisexual Workers’ Party member, was elected to the São Paulo Legislative Assembly

• Keit Lima, a bisexual PSOL member, was elected to the São Paulo Legislative Assembly

Lula and Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, whose father is former President Jair Bolsonaro, will face off in the presidential election’s second round on Oct. 25.

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Brazil

Lula, Flávio Bolsonaro to face off in second round of Brazilian presidential election

Neither man received at least 50 percent of the vote on Sunday

Published

20 hours ago

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October 4, 2026

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From left, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro. (Photo of Lula by Celso Pupo via Bigstock; screen capture of Bolsonaro via TV Celular Flavio Bolsonaro/YouTube)

SÃO PAULO — President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will face off against Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro in the second round of Brazil’s presidential election on Oct. 25 after neither man received more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round that took place on Sunday.

Bolsonaro was ahead of Lula by a 47.03-45.16 percent margin with 100 percent of the vote counted.

Lula in 2022 defeated Bolsonaro’s father, then-President Jair Bolsonaro, in that year’s presidential election.

The Brazilian Supreme Court last year sentenced Bolsonaro — who repeatedly targeted LGBTQ Brazilians and other groups while in office — to more than 27 years in prison for his role in an attempted coup that saw thousands of his supporters storm the Congress, presidential palace, and the Supreme Court itself on Jan. 8, 2023. Bolsonaro is currently serving his sentence at his home in Brasília, the country’s capital, because of his poor health. His son has pledged to pardon him if he becomes the country’s next president.

Lula, who leads Brazil’s leftist Workers’ Party, was Brazil’s president from 2003-2010.

Sergio Moro, a judge who Jair Bolsonaro later tapped as his government’s Justice and Public Security Minister, in 2017 sentenced Lula to 9 1/2 years in prison after his conviction on money laundering and corruption charges that stemmed from Operation Car Wash. 

The Supreme Court in November 2019 ordered Lula’s release.

A Brazilian Workers’ Party supporter campaigns outside a Metro station in Rio de Janeiro’s Ipanema neighborhood on Oct. 3, 2026. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva heads the party. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

VoteLGBT, an organization that seeks to increase LGBTQ representation in Brazilian politics, noted 529 openly LGBTQ candidates ran in this year’s election. More than 100 of them are either transgender or travesti.

The Washington Blade will cover the results of these races when they become available.

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Turkey

House Democrats urge White House to confront Turkish government over anti-LGBTQ crackdown

More than 60 lawmakers signed letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio

Published

3 days ago

on

October 2, 2026

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(Photo by Lora Sutyagina/Bigstock)

More than 60 House Democrats on Thursday called upon the Trump-Vance administration to confront the Turkish government over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown.

Turkish authorities last month detained dozens of people during raids that targeted the country’s LGBTQ community, advocacy groups, and HIV/AIDS service organizations. Journalists were among those taken into custody outside an Istanbul courthouse on Sept. 15 during a protest against the raids that are part of the government’s “My Family Is Safe” campaign.

Council for Global Equality is among the groups that organized a protest outside the Turkish Embassy in D.C. on Sept. 18.

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U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Sept. 21 during a U.N. LGBTI Core Group event that took place on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly specifically referenced Turkey.

The Core Group is a group of U.N. member states that have pledged to support LGBTQ and intersex rights.

The U.S. withdrew from the Core Group after the Trump-Vance administration took office. The White House has not publicly commented on Turkey’s anti-LGBTQ crackdown.

“These developments warrant an urgent diplomatic response from the United States to protect the rights of freedom of expression, association, and assembly for all Turkish citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” reads the letter the lawmakers sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “We therefore urge you to use all available channels to raise these concerns directly with the Turkish government; press for the immediate release of those arrested and detained for their legitimate human rights activities; and ensure that the U.S. Embassy in Ankara closely monitors related judicial proceedings.”

“We further urge the Department to press Turkish authorities to cease efforts to criminalize LGBTQI+ organizations and advocacy and to affirm the right of all people to peacefully assemble,” it adds.

Arizona Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari and U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) spearheaded the letter. House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.); House Foreign Affairs Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.); Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.); Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride, and U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), who chairs the Congressional Equality Caucus, are among the 65 House Democrats who signed the letter.

“The United States must be a leader in defending human rights and what is happening in Turkey demands an urgent diplomatic response. It’s absolutely appalling to see LGBTQI+ people and the organizations that stand up for their rights be targeted by the (President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan regime,” said Ansari in a press release. “I stand proudly with the LGBTQI+ community here and abroad and will continue to fight for their right to live openly, freely, and without fear, anywhere and everywhere.”

The press release notes the Human Rights Campaign, the Council for Global Equality, and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America support the letter.

“Turkey’s attacks on its LGBTQI+ community are a disturbing reminder that the fight for equality and human rights does not stop at our borders. No one should be silenced or detained for simply being who they are or peacefully demanding dignity and freedom,” said HRC Government Affairs Senior Director Jennifer Pike Bailey. “We are grateful to Representatives Ansari and Titus for recognizing that the fight for LGBTQI+ equality is global and that, even amid the many challenges facing our community here at home, we cannot turn our backs on LGBTQI+ people facing persecution abroad.”

A State Department spokesperson on Friday told the Washington Blade that “as a matter of policy, we do not comment on congressional correspondence.”

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