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Opening photo: Alex Ferreira / Chamber of Deputies

Federal deputy Jean Wyllys, representing Rio de Janeiro, announced he will not assume his third term because he has received threats and, amid the persecution of LGBTQ+ people, fears for his life. The PSOL-RJ legislator is the only openly gay member of the Brazilian parliament.

“Preserving threatened life is also a strategy in the fight for better days. We have done much for the common good, and we will do much more when the new era arrives. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart, Axé,” Wyllys wrote on his social media.

The swearing-in of the federal deputies elected in the recent elections, the same elections in which far-right Jair Bolsonaro became president, will take place on February 1st. According to an announcement from the Chamber's General Secretariat, he will be replaced by Rio de Janeiro city councilman David Miranda.

Wyllys championed causes related to LGBT rights and minority rights. According to his advisors, the congressman is currently abroad—his location was not disclosed for security reasons—and will not be returning to the country at this time.

“Martyrs are not heroes”

“When former Uruguayan President Pepe Mujica learned that I was under death threats, he told me, ‘Young man, take care of yourself, martyrs aren’t heroes,’ and that’s it: I don’t want to sacrifice myself,” Wyllys told the Folha newspaper. He said his fear is based on the fact that even his own party has admitted he has become a “target”: there is a campaign against the congressman spreading false information about him online, associating him, for example, with pedophilia, child marriage, and child sex reassignment.

While the threats are not new, they have increased since the assassination of councilwoman Marielle Franco – also of PSOL-RJ – in March of last year. Since then, the congressman has needed to travel in an armored car with an armed escort.

#BRAZIL Marielle Franco was murdered: feminist, Afro-Brazilian, and lesbian councilwoman

"The situation of violence has escalated, with supporters of the current president (Jair Bolsonaro) making all sorts of insults and threats on social media, creating an increasingly difficult situation. Even before Marielle's murder, he was already receiving very serious threats, some directed not only at him but also at his family. Emails mentioned his mother's address, his sister's address, and other family members," an advisor reported.

Farewell letter

“Dear comrades, I am writing to you today with a heavy heart to inform you that I will not be taking office as a federal deputy to which I was elected last year. (…) I am aware of the legacy I am leaving to the party and to Brazil, especially regarding the so-called ‘identity guidelines’ (in reality, the demands of social, sexual, and ethnic minorities for full citizenship and social esteem) and the vanguard, which are contained in the bills I presented and the principles I champion; I am counting on you to continue this struggle in Parliament,” Wyllys wrote in his farewell letter, dated January 23, 2019. “I am not leaving this position lightly. It was a thoughtful, considered, and painful decision, a difficult one. But the fact is that I have reached my limit. My life has long been incomplete; broken by the death threats and the relentless defamation I have suffered since my first term.”

According to the now former congressman, the threats extend to his family and loved ones. And they have a real basis for being taken seriously: “I became convinced that I couldn't—for my physical and emotional health and that of my family—continue living precariously and halfway. It was the week the news began to expose the cruel and unacceptable planning of the brutal execution of our comrade and friend Marielle Franco. Look, comrades, we're talking about hitmen who live in Rio de Janeiro, the state where I live, who murdered a fellow activist, and who maintain close ties with people who publicly oppose my causes and even the very existence of LGBT people. An example of this was the increase in the murder rate of LGBT people in Brazil in recent months.”