Life

Jair Bolsonaro’s loss in Brazil’s presidential election hailed as a win for LGBTQ+ community

By Sam Damshenas

31st October 2022

Brazil’s far-right, homophobic president Jair Bolsonaro has been defeated by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the presidential election. 

In one of the most significant and divisive elections in the country’s history, Silva – who originally served as president from 2003 to 2010 – secured 50.9% of the vote, while Bolsonaro received 49.10%.

Following his victory, the 77-year-old said Brazil is going to “live new times of peace, love and hope”.

Silva wasn’t permitted to stand in the 2018 election after being found guilty of corruption charges. After spending 580 days in jail, his conviction was annulled.

“I will govern for 215m Brazilians … and not just for those who voted for me,” he said in his speech to applause. “There are not two Brazils. We are one country, one people – a great nation. It is in nobody’s interests to live in a country that is divided and in a constant state of war.”

Silva’s supporters gathered on Paulista Avenue to celebrate his victory, as well as Bolsonaro’s loss.

Nicknamed the “Trump of the Tropics”, the right-wing politician is well-known for his homophobia, once stating that he’d rather his son die in an accident than be gay and that he would be “incapable of loving a homosexual son.”

During the COVID pandemic, Bolsonaro also used homophobic slurs to mock those who wore masks, reportedly saying that “wearing masks is a f**got thing”.

Gabrielly Soares, a 19-year-old student, told reporters with a rainbow flag over her shoulders: “I feel so happy… During four years of Bolsonaro I saw my family slip backwards and under Lula they flourished.

“This means we are going to have someone in power who cares about those at the bottom. Right now we have a person who doesn’t care about the majority, about us, about LGBT people. Bolsonaro… is a bad person.

“He doesn’t show a drop of empathy or solidarity for others. There is no way he can continue as president.”

Government officials around the world congratulated Silva on his win, with US President Joe Biden saying he ‘looks forward’ to “working together to continue the cooperation between our two countries in the months and years ahead.”

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, tweeted: “The people of Brazil have spoken.

“I’m looking forward to working with @LulaOficial to strengthen the partnership between our countries, to deliver results for Canadians and Brazilians, and to advance shared priorities – like protecting the environment. Congratulations, Lula!”

Mexico’s president Andrés Manuel López Obrado hailed Silva’s win as a victory for “equality and humanism” while Emmanuel Macron, French president, said it “kick starts a new chapter in Brazil’s history”.

Activists and politicians expressed their hope for Brazil’s queer community under Silva’s rule.

Linda Brasil, a trans rights activist and councillor for Sergipe, tweeted: “Only those who are LGBTQIA+, women, Black, Indigenous and every person who has been a victim of the hate speech of this fascist loser knows what our cry represents when seeing the confirmation of Lula’s victory at the polls.

“Today is one of the most important days of our lives! We won!”

Juanita Goebertus, Americas director for international human rights organisation Human Rights Watch, described Bolsonaro as a “disaster for human rights, both at home and abroad.”

She said: “President-elect Lula should start working on a plan to reverse president Bolsonaro’s harmful policies in the areas of public security, the environment, and women’s, LGBT, and Indigenous rights, among others, and start carrying out that plan as soon as he takes office on 1 January 2023.”