Gay Brazilian MP refugee from far-right Bolsonaro government

This 25 January 2019 Portuguese language video from Brazil is called (translated) Speaking of threats and fear, Jean Wyllys announces that he will leave Brazil.

Translated from Dutch NOS TV today:

Homosexual parliamentarian flees Brazil after death threats

The first openly gay member of parliament in Brazil has fled the country because of the many death threats. He says he is leaving politics because so many lies are being spread about him.

The 44-year-old Jean Wyllys became known in Brazil through his participation in the television program Big Brother. He has been in parliament since 2010 for the Party for Socialism and Freedom (PSOL).

Wyllys told Brazilian media that he is in Europe and does not intend to return to South America. He wants to focus on an academic career and obtain a PhD.

‘Homophobia fueled’

The left-wing politician had police protection since the murder of Marielle Franco, a politician, LGBTQ activist and friend of Wyllys, in March last year. He says the number of threats against him has increased in recent months.

He no longer feels safe in Brazil, not at all when President Bolsonaro is in power. “This president has insulted me publicly and has fueled homophobia.”

The far-right Bolsonaro made controversial statements about LGBTQ people. He said, eg, “If your son acts gay, then beat him up, then his behaviour will change.” In his inaugural speech, the president struck a more subdued tone …

Successor also homosexual

Yet, according to Wyllys, the climate in the country has become more violent since Bolsonaro is president. He and his family are smeared on the internet by conservative groups.

His place in parliament is taken by his fellow party member David Miranda, who is also openly gay.

David Miranda is married to U.S. journalist Glenn Greenwald. The British Conservative government arrested him as a ‘terrorist’ for his role in helping the Edward Snowden exposure of mass anti-privacy spying by the United States NSA.

The quiet migration of around 17,000 Brazilians through a single U.S. city in the past year reveals a new frontier in the Trump administration’s effort to shut down the legal immigration pathway for people claiming fear of persecution. Like hundreds of thousands of families from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, known collectively as the Northern Triangle, Brazilians have been crossing the border here and applying for asylum. They now make up a quarter of immigrants apprehended in El Paso, the most commonly apprehended migrants after Mexicans: here.