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Bolsonaro ‘will destroy democracy’ in Brazil if re-elected

LGBTQ, intersex activists back Lula ahead of Oct. 30 runoff

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Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro (Photo by Celso Pupo/ Bigstock)

Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers was on assignment in Brazil from Sept. 30-Oct. 11.

RIO DE JANEIRO — Michelle Seixas, the national political coordinator of Articulação Brasileira de Lésbicas (Brazilian Articulation of Lesbians), a group that advocates on behalf of lesbians in Brazil, was born in Complexo do Alemão, a complex of favelas in the northern part of Rio de Janeiro.

She spoke with the Washington Blade about her life, her work and Brazil’s presidential election on Oct. 10 during an interview at Espaço Democrático de União, Convivência, Apprendizagem e Prevenção (Democratic Space of Union, Coexistence, Learning and Prevention,) a community center in Complexo do Alemão known by the acronym EDUCAP that Prince Harry officially opened in 2012.

Local drug dealers built the soccer field that is next to EDUCAP. The Blade also saw public housing along one of Complexo do Alemão’s main streets that former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government built through its Programa Minha Casa, Minha Vida (My House, My Life Program.)

“(President Jair) Bolsonaro to lesbian women in Brazil is the worst president in Brazil’s history,” Seixas told the Blade.

Michelle Seixas, national political coordinator of Articulação Brasileira de Lésbicas, on Oct. 10, 2022. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Mariah Rafaela Silva, a transgender woman of indigenous descent who works with the Washington-based International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights, translated for Sexias.

She, like Seixas, lives in Complexo do Alemão.

“We not only went backwards in social public policy, but we also went backwards in basic human rights,” said Seixas, referring to Bolsonaro. 

“We know that there are many people who support Lula,” added Seixas.

A street in Rio de Janeiro’s Complexo do Alemão favela on Oct. 10, 2022. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Seixas spoke with the Blade eight days after the presidential election’s first round, which took place on Oct. 2.

Da Silva defeated Bolsonaro by a 48.4-43.2 percent margin. They will face off in the presidential election’s second round on Oct. 30 because neither received a majority of votes.

Four of Bolsonaro’s previous Cabinet members — former Justice and Public Security Minister Sergio Moro, former Family and Human Rights Minister Damares Alves, former Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina and former Science and Technology Minister Marcos Prutes — on Oct. 2 won seats in the Brazilian Congress. São Paulo Municipal Councilwoman Erika Hilton and Belo Horizonte Municipal Councilwoman Duda Salabert on the same day became the first openly transgender congresswomen.

Bolsonaro, a member of the right-wing Liberal Party, represented Rio de Janeiro in the Brazilian Congress from 1991 until he took office in 2018. 

The former Brazilian Army captain has faced sharp criticism because of his rhetoric against LGBTQ and intersex Brazilians, women, people of African and indigenous descent and other groups.

He has encouraged fathers to beat their sons if they think they are gay.

Bolsonaro during a 2019 press conference in the White House Rose Garden stressed his “respect of traditional family values.” Bolsonaro has expressed his opposition to “gender ideology,” supports legislation that would limit LGBTQ-specific curricula in Brazil’s schools and condemned a 2019 Brazilian Supreme Court ruling that criminalized homophobia and transphobia.

A Brazilian Federal Police investigator in August called for prosecutors to charge Bolsonaro with incitement for spreading false information about COVID-19 after he said people who are vaccinated against the virus are at increased risk for AIDS. Bolsonaro’s efforts to discredit the country’s electoral system have increased concerns that violence could erupt if he does not accept the election results if he loses to Da Silva, a member of the leftist Workers’ Party who was Brazil’s president from 2003-2010.

An anti-Bolsonaro ad on Brazilian television. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Moro, who was a judge before he joined Bolsonaro’s government, in 2017 sentenced Da Silva 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 Da Silva’s release.

Julian Rodrigues, who was the coordinator of the Workers’ Party’s National Working Group from 2006-2012, noted to the Blade during a previous interview that Da Silva in 2004 created the Health Ministry’s “Brazil without Homophobia” campaign. Rodrigues also highlighted Da Silva created the Culture Ministry’s Diversity Secretariat that, among other things, funded community centers and sought to make police officers and other law enforcement officials more friendly to LGBTQ and intersex people.

Da Silva during the campaign has publicly highlighted his support of LGBTQ and intersex rights.

“We know that the fight against prejudice and homophobia is a daily fight,” said Da Silva in a campaign video that Associaçao Nacional de Travestis e Transexuais (National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals), a Brazilian trans rights group known by the acronym ANTRA, shared on its Instagram page. “I have a lot of respect for all the gay, lesbian, bisexual, travestis and trans people who live in Brazil.”

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by ANTRA (@antra.oficial)

Hilton is among Da Silva’s more outspoken supporters. Lou Lou, a bar in Rio de Janeiro’s Ipanema neighborhood, and other establishments in the country that are popular among LGBTQ and intersex Brazilians also indicate their support for Da Silva with prominently placed stickers.

A pro-Lula sticker on a pillow at Lou Lou, a gay-friendly bar in Rio de Janeiro’s Ipanema neighborhood, on Oct. 8, 2022. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Cláudio Nascimento, president of Grupo Arco-Íris de Cidadania LGBT (Rainbow LGBT Citizen Group), an LGBTQ and intersex rights group in Rio de Janeiro, on Oct. 9 handed the Blade a sticker that read, “no LGBT votes for Bolsonaro” (“Nenhum voto LGBT em Bolsonaro”) before he sat down for an interview at his office.

Nascimento said Bolsonaro’s government and the federal government “hasn’t done anything for the community.” Nascimento also stressed Bolsonaro’s comments against LGBTQ and intersex Brazilians and other minority groups.

“He has also made speeches,” Nascimento told the Blade. “He speaks against the LGBT community. It stimulates hatred, stimulates persecution and stimulates violence, discrimination.”

Nascimento said he supports Da Silva because he does not represent a threat to democracy.

“Our concern is that if Bolsonaro is elected, he will destroy democracy from within democracy,” said Nascimento.

Grupo Arco-Íris de Cidadania LGBT President Cláudio Nascimento in his Rio de Janeiro office on Oct. 8, 2022. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Patricia Mannaro, a lawyer who co-founded Aliança Nacional LGBTI (National LGBTI Alliance), a national LGBTQ and intersex rights group, echoed Nascimento when she spoke with the Blade at a São Paulo coffee shop on Oct. 5.

Mannaro said human rights in Brazil will “continue dying” if Bolsonaro wins re-election.

Voters in Lins, a municipality in São Paulo state, in 2012 elected Edgar Souza as their mayor.

Souza, who is Brazil’s first openly gay mayor, agreed with Mannaro when he spoke with the Blade on Oct. 6 at his São Paulo office.

“I am not voting for Lula because I’m in love with Lula,” said Souza. “I have a lot of criticism of Lula and the PT (Workers’ Party,) but Lula does not threaten democracy. He respects democratic rule and I respect institutions. He respects the separation of powers.”

“Bolsonaro would threaten all of that,” added Souza.

Former Lins Mayor Edgar Souza (Photo courtesy of Edgar Sousa)

Renato Viterbo, vice president of Parada LGBT+ de São Paulo (São Paulo LGBT+ Parade) on Oct. 5 noted to the Blade during an interview at his office that marriage equality and most other LGBTQ and intersex rights advances in Brazil have happened because of court rulings, as opposed to legislation.

Viterbo said these advances could come under threat if Bolsonaro wins a second term, in part, because his party on Oct. 2 gained seats in Congress. Viterbo also stressed Bolsonaro continues to garner support in Brazil because he reflects attitudes that persist in the country.

“We are a sexist, anti-Semitic, racist and xenophobic country,” said Viterbo. “Democracy will be threatened if this government is reelected.”

Renato Viterbo, vice president of Parada LGBT+ de São Paulo, in his São Paulo office on Oct. 5, 2022. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
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South America

Argentina’s former special envoy for LGBTQ rights criticizes new government

Alba Rueda resigned before President Javier Milei took office

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Alba Rueda (Photo courtesy of Alba Rueda)

Argentina’s former Special Representative on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity during an exclusive interview with the Washington Blade discussed recent setbacks in LGBTQ rights in the country. 

Alba Rueda, a transgender woman who held the position in former President Alberto Fernández’s administration, revealed the challenges and risks faced by the queer community in the South American country in which 57.4 percent of the population lives in poverty, which is the highest rate in 20 years. The Catholic University of Argentina’s Observatory of Social Debt also notes Argentina began 2024 with a 20.6 percent inflation rate; this figure is 254.2 percent from year-to-year.

President Javier Milei took office in December.

“We received a request from our president at the time, Alberto Fernández, that we submit our resignation as part of the team that integrates the presidency,” Rueda told the Washington Blade.

Rueda explained she “resigned on Nov. 28, a few days before, to make it effective on Dec. 10 with the new government and since then, since Milei, the presidency and the chancellor, Daniela Elena Mondino, took office, (her post) was eliminated. It was already foreseeable according to Milei’s statements about closing the offices on gender perspective.”

“Our special representation was closed. My colleagues were redirected to other areas,” Rueda explained. “The person who accompanied me in political terms resigned with me, so the two of us left on Dec. 10, and the rest of the technical staff was relocated within the Foreign Ministry.” 

The former ambassador described how the closure of her position and the elimination of the Women, Gender and Diversity Ministry represent a significant setback in the protection of LGBTQ rights in Argentina. She stressed that while the country was a pioneer in passing progressive laws for the LGBTQ community, the lack of effective implementation and declining government commitment are jeopardizing these advances. 

“We argued that it had been a long time since very significant laws were passed in our country and that they had to be translated into national and local public policies,” she explained. “LGBTIQ+ people not only have to be protected formally in the law, but we have to change and modify the living conditions of our community that has experienced discrimination, violence and persecution for many years.”

She added “to change that culture, there needs to be not only a formal framework, but functioning democratic institutions” 

“This elimination has a direct affectation to the rights of LGBTIQ+ people,” said Rueda.

The interview revealed how Milei’s government has dismantled institutions and policies designed to protect queer people. 

“We created, for example, a program that was the first program at the national level that was an assistance program for trans people,” Rueda said. “This program of accompaniment for the protection of their rights was in the sub-secretariat and provided economic support and was working on solving all the procedures related to access to education, health, employment, issues related to substantive issues.”

Rueda highlighted that recent political decisions are not only curtailing LGBTQ rights, but are also directly affecting the community, especially those who are economically vulnerable. The elimination of assistance programs and lack of legal protections are leaving many LGBTQ people in a vulnerable position.

“Economic rights have been affected, as is the inflationary process and the inflationary decisions of this last month are directly affecting the middle class, lower middle class and the most impoverished sectors,” said Rueda. “It directly affects not only economic rights of the LGBTIQ+ population that belongs to these classes, but also affects rights that are not being worked within the framework or promoted within public policies.”

Rueda also raised concerns about a possible increase in violence towards LGBTQ people in Argentina, comparable to what has been observed in other countries under hostile political leadership. Rueda stated incidents of violence have already been recorded and that the current political climate is fueling discrimination and hatred towards the LGBTQ community.

“It started during the campaign, and I think that during the whole last year we saw how effectively, punctually in social networks and in the public space there was a whole attack on LGBTQ+ people,” she said. “Let’s not forget during the campaign that the main candidates who are the president, the vice president and the chancellor expressed themselves in the wrong way, generating with their ignorance a completely wrong message in the media, amplifying these messages that directly affect the rights of LGBTQ+ people.”

Rueda recalled the vice president “expressed in her campaign that for her it was not necessary to call marriage a union of people of the same sex … that was the civil union and saying that marriage was a figure associated with religious aspects.”

While Milei “in an interview also during the presidential campaign, said that he did not care if people want to have sex with other people of the same sex or with animals, such as elephants, equating and putting on the same level the consensual relations of people of the same sex over 18 as zoophilia.”

The situation has reached the point that different WhatsApp groups created to seek help during the COVID-19 pandemic became active again because of the interruption of the National Social Protection Plan and changes to an employment program that made vulnerable trans people in Argentina more at-risk.

“We are in a bad moment for the rights and quality of life of LGBTQ+ people,” Rueda said.

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South America

Former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera dies in helicopter crash

Previous head of state signed marriage equality, gender identity laws

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Former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera (Public domain photo)

Former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera died on Tuesday when the helicopter he was piloting crashed near Lake Ranco during heavy rains.

Initial reports indicate Piñera, 74, was piloting his private helicopter when it plunged into the lake, which is located in the Los Ríos Region of southern Chile. One of his sisters was among the three other people who was on board.

The former president owned a summer house on Lake Ranco. Family members and people close to him say he was in the area to have lunch at the home of businessman José Cox, a close friend and associate. Piñera boarded his helicopter after 3 p.m. local time (1 p.m. ET) and the accident occurred a few minutes later.

Reports indicate his relatives managed to survive after they jumped into the water, but Piñera was not able to escape. The helicopter sank in more than 130 feet of water.

Piñera, who was Chile’s president between 2010-2014 and 2018-2022, was the country’s first right-wing president since democracy returned to the country in 1990. Piñera’s government enacted most of Chile’s LGBTQ rights laws: The Anti-Discrimination Law in 2012, the Gender Identity Law in 2018 and the Equal Marriage Law in 2021.

Then-Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, right, greets Javier Silva and Jaime Nazar, the first same-sex couple to legally marry in Chile, on March 10, 2022, at the Presidential Palace in Santiago, Chile. (Photo courtesy of Hunter T. Carter/Instagram)

His first administration sent a civil unions bill to Congress, and it became law in 2015. Piñera also implemented public policies that sought to improve queer Chileans’ quality of life. 

Javiera Zuñiga, spokesperson for the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, the main Chilean LGBTQ organization known by the acronym Movilh, told the Washington Blade that “our organization is deeply saddened by the death of the former president, who played a crucial, leading and pioneering role for a president in the promotion and defense of the human rights of LGBTIQ+ people, same-sex couples and same-parent families.”

María José Cumplido, executive director of Fundación Iguales, another advocacy group, said “our condolences to the family of former President Sebastián Piñera for his passing.”

“We remember his commitment to the enactment of the Anti-Discrimination Law, the Gender Identity Law and the Consolidation of Equal Marriage, historic achievements for the LGBT+ community in Chile,” said Cumplido.

“I am very sorry for the death of President Piñera,” said Pablo Simonetti, an activist and writer, on his X account. “From the right he opened paths towards the integration of LGBT people and led the great milestone of equal marriage. My condolences to his family and friends, especially to (his wife) Cecilia Morel.”

President Gabriel Boric’s government also mourned Piñera’s death and announced a period of national mourning. A state funeral for Piñera will also take place.

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South America

Removal of sexual orientation question from Chilean Census criticized

Advocacy group on Jan. 4 wrote letter to President Gabriel Boric

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La Moneda, the Chilean Presidential Palace, in Santiago, Chile (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Chile’s National Institute of Statistics (INE) in an unexpected move has decided to remove the question regarding sexual orientation from the questionnaire of this year’s Census that will take place between March and June. 

The questionnaire, which consists of 50 questions, seeks to collect essential information to update demographic data that is fundamental for the formulation and continuation of public policies. Nationality, disability, native language, Afro-descendance and gender identity are among the new topics to be included in the Census, but activists have criticized the INE’s decision to omit the question about sexual orientation.

“We met with both the deputy technical director and the national director of INE to demand that this question be included,” Maria José Cumplido, executive director of Fundación Iguales, told the Washington Blade. “Unfortunately, the answer they gave us was that due to methodology and privacy protocol, this question could not be included in the Census because, according to their protocols, the question must be asked in a one-on-one interview and the head of household is interviewed for the Census and he or she answers for the family group.” 

The activist added “it is also very striking because there are questions about gender identity, for example, if you are trans or nonbinary.” 

“In the end, this protocol would not apply, which is very strange because both questions are sensitive,” said Cumplido. 

Cumplido said it will not be possible to have useful statistics to help create public policies without the question on sexual orientation.

Congresswoman Emilia Schneider, who is transgender, on social media also expressed her opposition to the INE’s decision. 

She said the inclusion of the LGBTQ community in the Census is crucial to combat discrimination through effective public policies. Schneider added the INE — and not the government — is responsible for the decision because it is an autonomous body.

Lawmakers from various political parties have also urged the INE to reconsider its decision. El Movimiento de Integración y Liberación Homosexual (Movilh), another advocacy group, expressed their concern in a letter it sent to President Gabriel Boric on Jan. 4.

The Blade on Thursday obtained a copy of it.

“These exclusions are undoubtedly a civilizational setback for LGBTIQ+ rights,” reads the letter that Movilh President Gonzalo Velásquez signed.

The letter notes 18 laws “that protect sexual orientations, gender identities and expression that especially justify protecting and improving the previous Census’ questions about diversities” have been approved since 2012. One of these laws, which extended marriage rights to same-sex couples in Chile, took effect on March 10, 2022, the day before Boric’s inauguration.

Movilh in its letter notes an agreement it signed with former President Michelle Bachelet’s government and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 2016. Bachelet’s government, as part of the agreement, agreed to introduce bills to extend marriage and adoption rights to same-sex couples. (Movilh in 2020 withdrew from the agreement after it accused then-President Sebastián Piñera of not doing enough to advance marriage equality in Chile. Piñera later announced his support for marriage equality, and the law that allowed same-sex couples to tie the knot took effect the day before he left office.) 

“We have been working together with the INE and the Census over the last few years and the official version was going to include questions about sexual and gender diversity,” reads the letter. “Today, however, we learned that this promise will not be fulfilled.”

Movilh spokesperson Javiera Zúñiga told the Blade a government minister has expressed a “willingness” to “meet with us,” but added he “told us that he cannot intervene in technical decisions of INE.”

“Therefore, it does not change the decision, nor the determination to exclude sexual orientation and data on LGBT people in the Census,” said Zúñiga. “What seems to us quite bad and quite unrealistic — since it is necessary for policies to publish (the statistics) — but it is also the State of Chile’s commitment to generate statistics regarding the LGBTQ+ population.”

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