In many ways, São Paulo is the New York City of South America.
It’s generally accepted that in Brazil, the further south you go, the more liberal people’s attitudes ?will be.
In the country’s underdeveloped North, many do not even consider it safe to come out of the closet. There, Christian fundamentalism and more conservative ideals remain the norm.
But here in the South, the LGBT movement is flourishing. As you might expect in NYC, many people openly express their sexuality.
Public affection is also much more acceptable and normal here. Walking down São Paulo’s main avenue, seeing a gay couple kissing is as normal as seeing a straight couple doing the same thing.
In Brazil’s recent elections, the LGBT community became an important talking point for presidential hopefuls.
Environmentalist candidate Marina Silva engaged in such an impressive campaign of flip-flopping in an attempt to keep her evangelist followers content without ostracizing LGBT supporters that many speculated it lost her the election.
The incumbent and now president-elect Dilma Rousseff kept to her position and promised more reforms for the LGBT community. In her governmental plan, Rousseff outlined an anti-homophobia law among her human rights priorities.
Rousseff can count the legalization of civil unions among her accomplishments of the past four years, although the issue of marriage remains complicated.
Her government has also made plans to open an LGBT center it claims will be the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere in downtown São Paulo.
But despite all of the promises, homophobic violence has continued to rear its ugly head at a disturbing rate. Grupo Gay da Bahia, Brazil’s premiere LGBT organization, reported that Brazil has the highest murder rate of members of the LGBT community in the world.
The group has counted 1,105 murders in the past four years, and they suspect the number might actually be higher.
Even Rousseff’s supporters admit disappointment at the slow rate things seem to be moving within the Brazilian government.
Maiara Beckrich, an active member of the LGBT movement and a Rousseff supporter, said she is sure that Rousseff is committed to advancing LGBT rights, but the nature of Brazilian politics forces her to make some concessions.
“She cannot commit fully because she’s part of a party, she’s part of something bigger,” Beckrich said.
In reality, Beckrich identifies herself as a member of a less popular but much more liberal Brazilian political party. But Beckrich recognized that Rousseff was her most reasonable option.
While not her ideal president, Beckrich is happy with the direction that Rousseff is going and confident in her abilities to start a discussion, particularly about the potential for an anti-homophobia law.
“I’m pretty sure I’ve never lived in a context where this fight is more out there, where the topic is being discussed so much,” Beckrich said.
