Jair Messias Bolsonaro, a former army captain was elected the president of Brazil in 2018 as the head of a right-wing government after years of stirring controversy with his homophobic, misogynistic and racist comments.
He shared on his Twitter account (where he has 3.4 million followers) a video recorded during the carnival celebrations which took place last weekend all over the country.
In the video, one of the men is skimpily dressed and with his buttocks visible, and engages in a lewd act while one of his companions urinates on his head as a crowd watches on.
https://twitter.com/jairbolsonaro/status/1103069837876711425
“I do not feel comfortable showing this, but … this is what many of the street parties in Brazil’s carnival have turned into.”
When we thought that it couldn’t get worse, the president tweeted one more time:
https://twitter.com/jairbolsonaro/status/1103270588850806787
“What is a golden shower?”
The intention of the president was clearly to denigrate the carnival celebrations and the LGBT+ community, putting everyone in the same box based on an isolated video. But it didn’t work as expected, it did not take long to the president become a top trend on Twitter, for all the right reasons. The video quickly racked up 2.43 million views after the former army officer posted it, splitting opinions in an already divided population.
Some denounced the president for using an isolated scene to attack the country’s popular Carnival, which has been used this year as a platform to protest against Bolsonaro’s intolerance towards minorities.
Critics said Bolsonaro’s tweets showed he was more focused on riling his progressive critics than building consensus in Congress for necessary reforms, such as an overhaul of the country’s budget-busting pension system.
Others argued that posting the footage was below the dignity of the president’s office, and had spread the video to a wider audience, including children.
“Bolsonaro, my six year-old granddaughter saw this scene on Twitter, just like millions of other kids whose parents follow you on Twitter,” said TV journalist Fabio Pannunzio.
“I’d like to know how the president of the republic can explain to them what they have just seen,” he said.
In fact, the Brazilian carnival was very politicized, from the street parties “blocos” with millions of people all over the country singing along ” #EiBolsonaroiVaiTomarNoCu” (HeyBolsonaroGoFuckYourself)
PASSANDO SÓ PRA LEMBRAR E DIZER PARA VOCÊ ENFIAR TODA SUA RAIVINHA NO SEU C*
MITOU DEMAIS, O VERDADEIRO HIT DO CARNAVAL 2019 ????? #EiBolsonaroiVaiTomarNoCu #VergonhaDessePresidente #ImpeachmentBolsonaro pic.twitter.com/so21xbVayY— Gaby ? (@gabyribeiroo_CL) March 7, 2019
Brazil’s most famous carnival celebrations take place in Rio de Janeiro, where Bolsonaro was a federal congressman for nearly three decades.
This year’s carnival has become increasingly politicized in the wake of Bolsonaro’s election and the 2018 murder of Rio councilwoman Marielle Franco, a gay and black rights activist whose murder remains unsolved.
Rio’s Mangueira samba school, which placed commemorations of Franco at the forefront of its parade ensuring her legacy would live on, adding to the politicized atmosphere.
© 2019 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
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