World
Marielle Franco’s widow keeps her legacy alive
Mônica Benício elected to Rio de Janeiro Municipal Council in 2020
Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers was on assignment in Brazil from March 12-21.
RIO DE JANEIRO — March 14 marked four years since the murders of Rio de Janeiro Municipal Councilwoman Marielle Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes, after they attended an event for Black women in the Brazilian city’s Lapa neighborhood. It remains very difficult for Franco’s widow, Mônica Benício, to discuss that day without becoming emotional.
“Before I start crying, I’ll just ask you to imagine what it is like to lose the love of your life,” said Benício on Saturday, speaking through her assistant who interpreted for her during an interview with the Washington Blade.
A tattoo of Franco’s face on Benício’s left forearm was visible throughout the interview that took place at a coffee shop near Largo de Machado in downtown Rio. A picture of Franco at a beach was also the screensaver on Benício’s smartphone.
Franco, a bisexual woman and single mother of African descent, grew up in Maré, a favela in the northern part of Rio that is close to its international airport.
Franco in 2003 began to work for now Congressman Marcelo Freixa, who is currently a member of the Brazilian Socialist Party, when he was a member of the Rio de Janeiro (State) Legislative Assembly. She coordinated its Defense of Human Rights and Citizenship Commission and worked for a number of local human rights organizations before she won a seat on the Rio Municipal Council in 2016 as a member of the leftist Socialism and Liberty Party.
Benício noted Franco received the fifth highest number of votes among the 51 candidates who ran for the Municipal Council in 2016. Only one other female candidate received more votes than Franco.
Franco, among other things, was an outspoken critic of police raids in Rio’s favelas that have left hundreds of people dead. She was a member of a Rio Municipal Council commission that sought to investigate them.
Franco four days before her murder described the Rio de Janeiro State Military Police’s 41st Battalion as “the death battalion” in response to the killings of three young men in two of the city’s favelas.
Authorities in 2019 arrested two former police officers in connection with Franco’s murder.
Benício noted the men remain in jail, but their trial has not begun.
“The struggle for justice to find out who ordered the murder and how high up they were indicates we are still far from knowing,” she said.
Ronnie Lessa, one of the main suspects, lived in the same large condominium complex in Rio’s exclusive Barra da Tijuca neighborhood in which President Jair Bolsonaro lives.
Bolsonaro, a former Brazilian Army captain who represented Rio in Congress for decades, was not president when Franco and Gomes were murdered.
Bolsonaro has strongly denied media reports that indicate Lessa visited his home before the killings. Benício referred to investigators’ claim the fact that Lessa and Bolsonaro were neighbors is “just a coincidence.”
Bolsonaro election ‘worst thing’ in Brazil for decades
Bolsonaro took office on Jan. 1, 2019. He defeated former São Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s Workers’ Party in the second round of the country’s presidential election that took place on Oct. 28, 2018.
“It’s the worst thing that’s happened in the history of this country for decades,” said Benício.
Bolsonaro’s comments against LGBTQ Brazilians, women, indigenous people and other underrepresented groups have sparked widespread outrage. Sources in Rio, São Paulo and Salvador with whom the Blade spoke also noted Bolsonaro, who is a member of the Liberal Party, has sought to link COVID-19 vaccines to AIDS.
“It is important for us to understand that Jair Bolsonaro has been in Congress for 30 years and has made no contribution to society,” said Benício.
Benício noted Bolsonaro’s homophobic, transphobic, racist and misogynist rhetoric was “known” before he became president. Benício said it resonates with a segment of Brazilian society and has caused incidents of discrimination, harassment and violence based on race, sexual orientation, gender identity, class and other factors to increase.
“It is an absolutely despicable posture and incompatible with a posture of the president of the republic,” she said. “It does, however, resonates with sectors of society.”
Brazil’s presidential, vice presidential, congressional and state gubernatorial and legislative elections will take place on Oct. 2.
Early polls indicate da Silva is ahead of the highly unpopular Bolsonaro, although a run-off will take place if no presidential candidate receives a majority of the vote. Eduardo Leite, the governor of Rio Grande do Sul State and member of the center-left Brazilian Social Democratic Party who came out as gay last summer, is among those who are running for vice president.
Benício told the Blade that she is hopeful the election “will not be a favorable result” for Bolsonaro. Benício also acknowledged growing concerns that Bolsonaro may not accept the election results if he loses.
“Whether we can complete this electoral period within (the framework of) our democracy or if we have someone who has finally shown that he has no scruples is a real concern,” said Benício. “It doesn’t matter if he hands over that presidential sash.”
Benício elected to Rio Municipal Council in 2020
Franco’s family has created the Marielle Franco Institute that seeks to “inspire, connect and empower Black women, LGBTQIA+ people and others on the margins in order to continue moving the structures of society towards a fairer and more egalitarian world.”
Benício, who also grew up in Maré, was an architect before Franco and Gomes were killed. Benício in 2020 ran for the Rio Municipal Council as a member of the Socialism and Liberty Party, and won with nearly 23,000 votes.
Benício’s first term would have been Franco’s second.
“It was never in my personal life plan,” Benício told the Blade. “I was the partner of a lawmaker and my life was dedicated to architecture.”
Benício said the majority of her colleagues on the Municipal Council have treated her well, although some of them strongly disagree with her positions on LGBTQ rights and other issues that include support for efforts to address social and economic disparities in the city. Benício stressed she champions the same issues that Franco did.
“They already knew me as a defender of human rights,” said Benício, referring to her colleagues on the Municipal Council. “They already knew me as a feminist, a lesbian.”
Benício further stressed she remains committed to keeping Franco’s legacy alive.
“Seeing Marielle turn into a broad representative symbol of resistance, of hope, for me is the legacy,” said Benício. “Marielle’s life will not be in vain. Society will also not allow it.”
Australia
Australia lifts additional restrictions on LGBTQ blood donors
Gay, bisexual men, trans people in long-term monogamous relationships can now donate
The Australian Red Cross Blood Service (Lifeblood) has lifted additional restrictions on LGBTQ people who want to donate blood.
The Star-Observer, an Australian LGBTQ newspaper, reported new Lifeblood rules that took effect on Monday will allow “gay and bisexual men and transgender people in long-term monogamous relationships to donate blood and platelets for the first time.”
The new policy defines “long-term monogamous relationships” as those that are at least six months.
All potential donors — regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity — will answer the same questions about recent sexual activity.
“Previous donor rules prevented many people from the LGBTQIA+ community from donating blood or platelets if they’d had sex within the past three months,” said Lifeblood CEO Stephen Cornelissen in a press release that announced the new policy. “These latest changes mean many gay and bisexual men and transgender people in long-term, monogamous relationships will become eligible to donate blood or platelets for the first time.”
Lifeblood in 2025 ended its blanket ban on sexually active LGBTQ people from donating blood.
Rodney Croome, an Australian LGBTQ activist who is the spokesperson for Let Us Give, a campaign that has championed the changes, donated blood on Monday.
“After three decades of advocacy, and for the first time in my life, I was able to donate blood today,” said Croome in a Facebook post that showed him donating blood. “From today, gay men, and bisexual men and transgender women who have sex with men, are able to give blood without the traditional three month abstinence period. All donors are now asked the same questions about sex regardless of the gender of our sexual partners.”
Croome in the post said “there are still problems with the new donor regime,” but said Let Us Give will continue to work with Lifeblood.
“Those who may have not been monogamous in the recent past should not be subject to a six month wait time,” he wrote. “Three months is considered more than enough in the UK, US and Canada. It should be here too. People on PrEP and trans people also face continued barriers. Let Us Give will continue to work towards greater equity in donation.”
European Union
Top EU court strikes down Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ propaganda law
Ruling issued days after voters outed Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
The European Union’s top court on Tuesday struck down Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ propaganda law.
Hungarian MPs in 2021 approved Act LXXIX of 2021.
“It shall be forbidden to make accessible to persons who have not attained the age of 18 years advertisement that depicts sexuality in a gratuitous manner or that propagates or portrays divergence from self-identity corresponding to sex at birth, sex change or homosexuality,” it reads.
The European Commission in 2022 challenged the law. Sixteen EU countries — Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden — joined the lawsuit. The European Parliament also supported it. Outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, for his part, said his government would defend the law.
The EU Court of Justice heard the case in 2024.
A press release that announced the ruling on Tuesday said Hungary “acted in breach of EU law.”
“The court finds, for the first time, a separate infringement of Article 2 TEU (Treaty on European Union), which lists the values on which the (European) Union is founded and which are common to all the Member States,” it reads. “The aspects of the amending law targeting content which portrays or promotes deviation from the self-identity corresponding to the sex assigned at birth, gender reassignment, or homosexuality constitute a coordinated series of discriminatory measures which are in breach, in a way that is both manifest and particularly serious, of the rights of non-cisgender persons — including transgender persons — or non-heterosexual persons, as well as the values of respect for human dignity, equality and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities.”
“Consequently, that law is contrary to the very identity of the (European) Union as a common legal order in a society in which pluralism prevails,” notes the press release. “Hungary cannot validly rely on its national identity as justification for adopting a law which is in breach of the values referred to above.”
The Háttér Society, a Hungarian LGBTQ rights group, said the ruling “is a milestone for the protection of human rights in the European Union, and it is also a historic victory for LGBTQI people in Hungary.”
The court issued its ruling nine days after Péter Magyar ousted Orbán in Hungary’s elections.
Orbán took office in 2010.
He and his government faced widespread criticism over its anti-LGBTQ crackdown that included laws that banned Pride events and other public LGBTQ events. (Upwards of 100,000 people last June denied the prohibition and marched in Budapest’s annual Pride parade.)
“Those amendments constitute a particularly serious interference with several fundamental rights protected by the (EU) Charter (of Fundamental Rights), namely the prohibition on discrimination based on sex,” notes the court’s press release.
The EU since Orbán took office has withheld upwards of €35 billion ($41.2 billion) in funds to Hungary in response to concerns over corruption, rule of law, and other issues. Magyar has said he will work with Brussels to unfreeze the money.
ILGA-Europe Deputy Director Katrin Hugendubel urged Maygar’s government to repeal the law.
“With this ruling, the CJEU (The EU Court of Justice) is confirming what we have been saying for six years,” said Hugendubel. “There is now no excuse for the Commission not to require Hungary to quickly withdraw the law. Hungary cannot enter a post-Orbán era without repealing this legislation, including the Pride ban.”
“If Péter Magyar truly aims to be pro-EU, he must place this at the top of his agenda for his first 100 days in office, as an essential part of his EU facing reforms,” added Hugendubel.
National
LGBTQ Catholic groups slam Trump over pope criticism
‘Moral truth and compassion always overcome ignorant hate’
LGBTQ Catholic groups have sharply criticized President Donald Trump over his criticisms of Pope Leo XIV.
Leo on April 13 told reporters while traveling to Algeria that he had “no fear of the Trump administration” after the president described him as “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy” in response to his opposition to the Iran war. (Trump on the same day posted to Truth Social an image that appeared to show him as Jesus Christ. He removed it on April 13 amid backlash from religious leaders.)
Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic, during a Fox News Channel interview on the same day said “in some cases, it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality, to stick to matters of what’s going on with the Catholic church, and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy.” Vance on April 14 once again discussed Leo during an appearance at a Turning Point USA event in Athens, Ga., saying he should “be careful when he talks about matters of theology.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni; former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Miguel Díaz; and Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, are among those who have criticized Trump over his comments. The president, for his part, has said he will not apologize to Leo.
“The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants,” said Leo on Thursday at a cathedral in Bamenda, Cameroon.
Francis DeBernardo is the executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based LGBTQ Catholic organization. He told the Washington Blade on Thursday that Trump’s comments about Leo “are one more example of the ridiculous hubris of this leader (Trump) whose entire record shows that he is nothing more than a middle-school bully.”
“LGBTQ+ adults were often bullied as children, and they have learned the lesson that bullies act when they feel frightened or threatened,” said DeBernardo. “But secular power does not threaten the Vicar of Christ, and Pope Leo’s response illustrates this truth perfectly.”
DeBernardo added Trump “is obviously frightened that Pope Leo, an American, has more power and influence than the president on the world stage.”
“Like most Trumpian bullying, this strategy will backfire,” DeBernardo told the Blade. “Moral truth and compassion always overcome ignorant hate. Trump’s actions are not an example of his power, but of his impotence.”
Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA, an LGBTQ Catholic organization, echoed DeBernardo.
“He [Trump] has demonstrated throughout both presidencies that he doesn’t understand the basic concepts of any faith system that is founded on the dignity of human beings, the importance of common good,” Duddy-Burke told the Blade on Thursday during a telephone interview. “It’s just appalling.”
Duddy-Burke praised Leo and the American cardinals who have publicly criticized Trump.
“The pope’s popularity — given how much more respect Pope Leo has than the man sitting in the White House — is a blow to his ego,” Duddy-Burke told the Blade. “That seems to be a sore sport for him.”
“It’s such an imperialistic world view,” she added.
Leo ‘is the real peacemaker’
The College of Cardinals last May elected Leo to succeed Pope Francis after his death.
Leo, who was born in Chicago, is the first American pope. He was the bishop of the Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru from 2015-2023.
Francis made him a cardinal in 2023.
Juan Carlos Cruz — a gay Chilean man and clergy sex abuse survivor who Francis appointed to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors — has traveled to Ukraine several times with Dominican Sister Lucía Caram since Russia launched its war against the country in 2022. Cruz on Thursday responded to Trump’s criticism of Leo in a text message he sent to the Blade from Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.
“I am in Ukraine under many attacks,” said Cruz. “Trump is an asshole and has zero right to criticize the Pope who is the real peacemaker.”
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