Brazil's new president targets LGBTQ people, gets praise from Trump

On his first day in office, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has moved to deprioritize LGBTQ rights - amid praise by Donald Trump and other U.S. officials. Bolsonaro, a former member of Brazil's Congress who has a long history of homophobia, racism, and misogyny, was sworn in as president Tuesday. One of his first orders was to remove LGBTQ concerns from the list of issues handled by the nation's human rights ministry, the Associated Press reports. He did not assign it to any other agency.

Bolsonaro has criticized what he calls "gender-based ideology," saying it threatens Brazil's Christian values. He has gone so far as to say that he would rather have a dead son than a gay one. He also has likened indigenous people to animals and said a female legislator was too ugly to be raped. [...]

But Bolsonaro, who has been called the "Trump of the Tropics," is just dandy in Trump's eyes. The American president tweeted congratulations to Bolsonaro, and the Brazilian responded warmly.

source: Article 'Brazil's New President Targets LGBTQ People, Gets Praise From Trump' by Trudy Ring; www.advocate.com/politics/2019/1/03/brazils-new-president-targets-lgbtq-people-gets-praise-trump; The Advocate; 3 January 2019