Brazilian women lead nationwide protests against far-right candidate
Angered by Jair Bolsonaro’s history of making offensive comments, which includes belittling rape, female protesters are using the hash tag #EleNao, or #NotHim, to protest the presidential front-runner
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Brazil’s major cities on Saturday in women-led protests against far-right presidential front-runner Jair Bolsonaro, who flew home after weeks in hospital recovering from a near-fatal stab wound.
Angered by Bolsonaro’s history of making offensive comments, which includes belittling rape and calling the gender pay gap justified, female protesters used the hash tag #EleNao, or #NotHim, to drum up support for a series of international protests against the former army captain.
Flag-waving protesters flocked to downtown Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo on Saturday afternoon, pouring out of subway trains and into the streets while chanting in unison against a divisive candidate who has led polls for months ahead of the October 7 election, the most polarising in a generation.
Later, as night fell, television images showed protesters starting small fires and banging drums in the centre of Rio.
“I could never be friends with someone who supports a person (like Bolsonaro), who is racist, homophobic and a misogynist,” said Tassia Casseli, who was at the Sao Paulo march.
