"We LGBT people are Bolsonaro's target: we must unite."
Opinion column by human rights activist Lana de Holanda.
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By Lana from Holland*
In my 28 years, this is, without a doubt, the worst period I've lived through. In 2016, here in Brazil, we experienced a coup where the elected president was ousted from power before even being formally charged. To this day, there is no evidence of the alleged corruption.
Last year we witnessed something worse: the extreme right gained substance and voice and was embodied in Jair Bolsonaro, an extremely conservative candidate who during his campaign was not ashamed to show contempt for women, the black, indigenous and LGBT population.
On the other hand, it's important to remember that LGBT people have always served as a platform for Bolsonaro: attacking, dehumanizing, and threatening us. A few years ago, the president said in an interview that he would rather have a dead son than a gay one. He also said that he would never accept having gay neighbors because his property would lose value. He's been saying things like this for years, fueling the hatred the population has toward us, and nothing has happened. He's never been reprimanded for saying such outrageous things. On the contrary, he won an election.
[READ ALSO: Lana from Holland: “Being trans in Brazil means living in danger every day”]
It's important to understand that Bolsonaro is the politician who best represents the average Brazilian citizen: he's not very cultured or well-educated. He comes from a middle-class family. He's white. He's proud of his dislike for reading. He's also proud of saying he understands nothing about economics. He believes women were made to serve men. He proudly states that he hates LGBT people and opposes any rights we might have. He's hypocritical in defending the traditional family, since he's been married three times and has children from different marriages. Therefore, Bolsonaro is no different from the millions of men who live in Brazil. That's why the public outcry: for the first time, a segment of the population didn't vote for someone who stood out for something, but rather for someone they identified with, someone who could be a relative, or a reflection in the mirror.
That is the great challenge we Brazilians face: fighting an enemy that enjoys widespread public support and closely resembles the people who voted for him. An enemy who looks like an uncle, a grandfather, a cousin, or even that father figure we have at home.
[READ ALSO: Activists on alert over Bolsonaro's anti-LGBTI+ measures]
In his first days in office, Bolsonaro has already shown that he will not govern for everyone, as we anticipated. He drastically reduced the power of the Secretariats that protect Indigenous rights and removed LGBT regulations from human rights guidelines. He also announced that leftists will not be eligible for government scholarships and eliminated a guide from the Ministry of Health that addressed the health of transgender men. He appointed Damares Alves to the new Ministry of Women and Family, a woman who opposes legal abortion, even in cases of rape or when the woman's life is at risk.
Our struggle over the next four years will be very intense, and it is in this context that I begin writing for Presentes. Once a month, I will try to report not only on the challenges we face here in Brazil but also on the struggles and initiatives to try to halt these setbacks in rights. I would love for the news to improve during this time and for reality not to be as harsh as it seems now.
[READ ALSO: “We are the seed of Marielle Franco that has already sprouted against Bolsonaro”]
We, in the field of politics and activism, face many challenges. We must unite to liberate Brazil from the far right and all that it entails, such as sexism, racism, hatred of the poor, and LGBTphobia. We need to unite, regardless of political party, organization, or leftist ideology.
A single fish is much more fragile than a school of fish; that's why it's a process of thinking collectively, in harmony, in unity. Together we will be stronger.
I call upon all our brothers and sisters in Latin America to pay attention to what is happening in Brazil. The extreme right in Brazil can affect us all. We cannot allow this tragedy to spread. Let what is happening in Brazil serve, at the very least, as a warning to other countries, so that it is not repeated.
We will continue together until victory.
*Brazilian human rights activist. First trans advisor to the Rio de Janeiro City Council (PSOL).
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