Bolsonaro: Brazil's Right-Wing Leader and the Women Against Him

São Paulo on the day of the protest

A trip to an art museum in São Paulo took an unexpected turn when I encountered a protest complete with whacky costumes, passionate chanting and rhythmic drumming. The atmosphere was carnivalesque, but the mood was undercut with anger, and the banners, rather than advertising caipirinha cocktails, read ‘Mulheres Contra Bolsonaro’: ‘Women Against Bolsonaro’. This was an anti-government protest aptly organised on the 8th March, International Women’s Day.

Image by Anne Petermann

Since right-wing former military officer, Jair Bolsonaro became president in 2018, increasingly stringent measures restricting women’s rights have been a hot topic of conversation. An early move to replace the department for human rights with a department of ‘family values’, headed by right-wing evangelical pastor Damares Alves, set the tone.

Bolsonaro himself has a track record with misogyny, commenting, for example, that his fellow congresswoman was not “worth raping; she is very ugly”. That’s not to say Bolsonaro is unanimously unpopular amongst women: far from it. The so-called ‘Trump of the Tropics’ has polarised Brazilian women, gaining female support for a variety of reasons: his promise to crack down on crime, his alignment with Christianity, or his vision of a more prosperous Brazil. That being said, my experience in the São Paulo protest introduced me first hand to his passionate opposition.

In true Brazilian style, a campaigner introduced herself to me and began to explain exasperatedly that Bolsonaro was ‘fascista’ and ‘racista’. Due to my limited Portuguese language skills, the conversation quickly moved into the disjointed realm of google translate. She typed that Bolsonaro has failed to respond to violence against women and that he has restricted the rights of female workers by setting the retirement age for women at 62, while it is 65 for men. Evidently, Bolsonaro’s sexist views are creeping into government policy.

It is well known that Brazil has strict abortion legislation which long pre-dates Bolsonaro: legal only in specified cases such as rape or incest. Bolsonaro backs plans to build on these draconian measures by pushing abstinence-based sex education, in a bid to cut teenage pregnancy. He has even urged parents to tear out the pages of an Adolescent Health Booklet which teaches girls about their genitalia, and how to practice safe sex. Not only are women being restricted from making choices about their bodies, their bodies are now being hidden and shamed.

Bloco in Lapa, Rio de Janeiro

This is all a stark contrast with the sexual freedom of Rio de Janeiro Carnival, where the uniform is comprised of tutu skirts, lycra leotards and not least headdresses (how else can you differentiate a devil from Micky Mouse). Right-wing politics feels so distant when people of all walks of life come together in revelry. The dividing lines of gender, class, race and nation are blurred, and everyone feels a sense of ‘togetherness’.

Polls show that Bolsonaro’s popularity has fallen during the coronavirus pandemic with many Brazilians participating in nightly demonstrations from their balconies, protesting against their president’s response. For many of us across the world Bolsonaro’s tactless handling of the health crisis has been as shocking as his insulting comments about female colleagues. For many Brazilians, such as the woman I met in the protest, I’m sure this has come as no surprise.

As the spotlight intensifies on Bolsonaro’s character, will questions over his legitimacy as a leader provide space for marginalised voices to come to the forefront? Brazil’s future is uncertain, but one thing is for sure: Brazilians certainly know how to come together.