RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Thousands of revelers descended on the boardwalk in Copacabana for Rio de Janeiro’s annual Pride parade on Sunday, with many celebrating the previous day’s preemptive jailing of Brazilian former President Jair Bolsonaro who is notorious for homophobic remarks.
Demonstrators addressing crowds from trucks shouted: “He’s in prison!” and “Out with Bolsonaro!” to raucous cheers from rainbow-clad members of the LGBTQ+ community, who were a frequent target of the embattled far-right politician throughout his career.
“It’s very gratifying,” said Emy Mateus Santos, a 25-year-old arts, theater and dance professor who was wearing a T-shirt with the colors of the Brazilian flag, a symbol that has frequently been used by Bolsonaro supporters.
“It shows that fighting hate is worth it and that the future is possible for people like us,” she said, adding that she was wearing yellow and green to claim the colors back from Bolsonaro’s movement.
Bolsonaro once described himself as a “proud homophobe” and said he would rather have a dead son than a gay son.
In September, Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison in September for attempting a coup to remain in the presidency after his 2022 electoral defeat.
He had been under house arrest, but on Saturday Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the 70-year-old leader’s preemptive jailing, arguing that he is a flight risk. Bolsonaro admitted Saturday to using a soldering iron on his ankle monitor, but said on Sunday that his actions resulted from a nervous breakdown and hallucinations.
Some participants of the Pride march in Rio bore “No amnesty!” stickers, in reference to a bill Bolsonaro’s allies are trying to push through Congress to lessen sentences for those convicted of attempting a coup.
Revelers collectively carried a huge rainbow flag. Trucks bore messages such as “without lesbians, rights are not human” and “Rio without LGBTIphobia.”
Rio’s Pride march 30 years ago was the first in Brazil, according to organizers. That history was referenced in this year’s theme titled: “30 years making history: from the first struggles for the right to exist to building sustainable futures.”
“Thirty years ago we had to make 1000 masks out of papier-mâché for people who didn’t want to be recognized for fear of losing their jobs, of being kicked out from their families,” said Cláudio Nascimento, a longtime organizer of the march.
“Now we use masks to bring joy and to celebrate our existence,” he told journalists.
While life has improved for LGBTQ+ people in Brazil compared to 30 years ago, they continue to suffer from violence.
At least 291 LGBTQ+ Brazilians were victims of violent deaths in 2024, 34 more deaths than the previous year, according to the activist group Gay Group from Bahia.
“As long as these statistics are still a reality, Pride marches will still be necessary,” said Flávio Salgueiro, a 34-year-old lawyer who lives in Sao Paulo and was at the march in Rio.
“It’s really important to show that a united community exists in a society which has a project to erase us,” he said.
Many activists say Bolsonaro’s anti-gay rhetoric incites or legitimizes violence against LGBTQ+ people.
“As a politician, Bolsonaro greatly reduced public policies aimed at protecting, supporting and promoting diversity,” Dani Balbi, the first trans woman to be elected at Rio’s state assembly, told The Associated Press.
“Seeing Bolsonaro imprisoned and then immediately having LGBT trucks out on the street is a celebration in the hope that politicians like him never return,” she said.
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