Homophobic Jair Bolsonaro defeated in Brazil election
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has defeated the far-right incumbent.
In a monumental election result, Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil has been defeated and former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will replace him.
Lula defeated the far-right and deeply homophobic and transphobic incumbent, who was running for his second term, with 50.9 percent of the vote in a suspenseful comeback on Sunday (30 October).
The 77-year-old left-wing politician celebrated his win with a simple message on Twitter: “democracy.” The BBC reports Bolsonaro has yet to concede the result.
Lula was president of Brazil from 2003 until 2010 and will be sworn into office again on 1 January 2023.
The BBC reports Lula was unable to run in the 2018 election after being found guilty of taking bribes to award contracts to the oil company, Petrobas.
The UK’s latest Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, congratulated the winner on his victory, sharing he looks “forward to working together on the issues that matter to the UK and Brazil, from growing the global economy to protecting the planet’s natural resources and promoting democratic values.”
The legitimacy of Bolsonaro’s handling of the election had been contentious with voters reportedly stopped at the polls by police to prevent votes for Lula being recorded.
Additionally, many are celebrating Lula’s win due to Bolsonaro’s horrendous track record with LGBTQ+ rights.
On his first day in office, Bolsonaro signed an executive order removing the concerns of LGBTQ+s from consideration by the new human rights ministry.
The 67-year-old politician has taken issue with sex education programs in schools mentioning that LGBTI people exist, frequently suggested that such programs were designed to turn children gay.
In 2010, Bolsonaro said he’d be incapable of loving a gay son and would prefer that son to “die in an accident”.
He added: “If your son starts acting a little gay, hit him with some leather, and he’ll change his behaviour.”
In 2015, he said that blood transfusion patients should be allowed to reject blood if it came from a gay person.
His aggressive homophobia is blatant, he even remarked: “Brazil can’t be a country of the gay world, of gay tourism. We have families.”