Jean Wyllys, a gay congressman flees Bolsonaro’s ‘dangerous’ Brazil: France24
https://www.france24.com/en/20190320-brazil-jean-wyllys-openly-gay-congressman-rights-activist-exile
LGBT people have been under attack all over the world as they are perceived to be going against the norms and beliefs of society. On the events that show the plights of gay people in Brazil as reported by France24 on 20th March 2019 is the fleeing of Brazilian gay congressman Jean Wylly. The event came after the gay congressman announced that he was going to give away his political seat after receiving death threats. Jean had been a fierce fighter of human rights and was expected to be sworn in for the third term. According to the congressman, the threats started 9 years ago after being elected for the first term.
According to the article on France24, Congress had been on a constant smear campaign on social media due to his open declaration of him being gay and his activist against gay people. The fear for assassination had been intensified due to the murder of a close friend. The threats and murder of Jean’s friend was associated with a militia that controls much of Brazil’s public service and has great influence on voting. The links of the president Bolsonaro is linked to the militia group and is believed to create a good working haven for the militia according to the congressman. The congressman is not the only gay personalities who have fled Brazil due to fear for their lives.
Despite this event, there has been tremendous progress in the fight against discrimination of LGBT individuals in Latin America. For example, Cuba has banned workplace discrimination as a result of sexual orientation thus focusing the attention on the gay people and transgender individuals in the country. Though there is a slow change in the acknowledgment of LGBT rights in Latin America, many countries are catching up, for example, countries such as Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay have legalized same-sex marriages (America Quarterly). This is a big step towards the realization of gay rights in Latin America.
Increased activism on the rights of LGBT and the fact that people like Jean have come up openly to fight for rights is a sign better times to come for the gay people living in Latin America. Freedom of association and freedom from discrimination due to sex, age, sex orientation race has been a problem in many countries for a long time. Many countries are still struggling to promote discrimination of LGBT individuals due to their hard held cultural beliefs and strict laws. As an advocate of human rights, equality and liberty of all people the Jamaican pride week resonates very well with the advocacy work and will go a long way in fostering the respect for human rights and help fight discrimination of LGBT people in Jamaica.
Just like most Latin America countries, Brazil has a rich cultural heritage which is being eroded by increased modernity and cultural exchange. Increased movements of people all over the world, increased use of technology has also led to increased cultural erosion and the introduction of new cultural practices in Brazil. Postcolonial ties also influenced cultural change in Brazil. Modernity has a huge influence on religion, philosophy, social organizations as well as the political environment. The pride week for LGBT in Jamaica is a clear indication of the influence of modernity in the country. It shows the growing liberty of the people and change of the government philosophy on human rights. Exposure of the Brazilian community to western culture due to increased technology and use of social media has also had a huge influence on the change of perception on the LGBT community giving people like Jean the courage to come out to fight for the rights of LGBT. Cultural change is another influence on the success of the LGBT individual rights in Brazil. Cultural change is brought about by modernism and globalization which leads to a change of behaviors due to the adoption of a foreign culture. The migration of people in Brazil too and from modernized cultures has led to tolerance of other cultures due to exposure.
Conclusion
The negative perception towards gay people is therefore linked to cultural intolerance. The fight for gay rights by human rights activists such as Jean is a stride to the gay community has achieved in the fighting for their rights in Brazil proves the changing perception towards LGBT individuals in Latin America. The changing perception of gay rights in Latin America can be attributed to increased modernization and culture change in those countries. Exposure of the Latin America people to western culture due to increased technology and use of social media has also had a huge influence on the change of perception on the LGBT community and has encouraged the activism of LGBT rights. However, this may come at a great cost like in the case of Jean.
Works Cited
Americas Quarterly. Jamaica’s Pride Week Is A Positive Step for the Caribbean. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.americasquarterly.org/content/jamaicas-pride-week-positive-step-caribbean