Tens of thousands of Brazilian women took to the streets on September 29 to protest against the misogynist politics of Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right candidate in Brazil’s October 7 presidential race.
In a series of marches stretched from Manaus in the Amazon to the megacity of Sao Paulo in the nation’s southeast, demonstrators organised under the hashtag #EleNao, or #NotHim, pledged not to vote for the candidate who has made light of rape and called the gender pay gap justified.
Demonstrators in 52 cities around the world, across 24 countries, organised #NotHim solidarity protests. The international rallies were also organised through the Brazilian Women Abroad Against Bolsonaro Facebook page.
Bolsonaro, a federal deputy from Rio de Janeiro, was the frontrunner in opinion polls ahead of October 7. Yet he has also repelled many by misogynist and homophobic commentary.
His relative lack of support among women could spell trouble for the candidate, a former army captain who has become the market favourite for embracing free-market policies.
His biggest rival and likely opponent in a probable second round run-off is leftist candidate Fernando Haddad from the Workers’ Party (PT).
The former Sao Paulo mayor is the PT candidate after former PT president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was barred from the election by the country’s Electoral Court. Polls have suggested Haddad could win the run-off with support from the working class and many voters who cannot stomach his right-wing opponent.
[Abridged from TeleSUR English.]