Brazil’s first and only gay congressperson has announced that he is stepping down and has left the country in response to death threats against him.
The 44-year-old was re-elected to Congress in October last year and was to begin his third term as a representative for Rio de Janeiro next month. But he told the Sao Paulo-based newspaper that he will not return to Parliament nor to Brazil, claiming his career and reputation had been “destroyed by lies” and fake news.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Wyllys said that threats on his life has increased since the murder last March of his friend, lesbian Rio de Janeiro councilperson Marielle Franco.
“This was not an easy decision, and it involved a lot of pain, because I am also giving up being close to my family, my dear friends, and the people who love me and want me near them,” he said.
“Why would I want to live four years of my life in an armoured car with bodyguards? Four years of my life when I can’t just go where I want to go?”
Although he did not explicitly blame far-right President Jair Bolsonaro - who took office earlier this month - Wyllys said that violence and hate speech had worsened since he was elected.
The Guardian says Wyllys’ departure is “likely to add to fears among Brazil’s LGBT community” that homophobia is “set to rise even further” under Bolsonaro. The army office-turned-politician has a history of homophobic comments, including saying that he would “rather his son die in a car accident than be gay”.
Wyllys’ left-wing Party for Socialism and Liberty (PSOL) said that his vacant seat in Congress would be filled by David Miranda, “a member of the Rio de Janeiro city council who is also gay and is married to Pulitzer prize-winning US journalist Glenn Greenwald”, reports the BBC.
-
West Africa’s ‘coup cascade’The Explainer Guinea-Bissau takeover is the latest in the Sahel region, which has quietly become global epicentre of terrorism
-
Daddy Pig: an unlikely flashpoint in the gender warsTalking Point David Gandy calls out Peppa Pig’s dad as an example of how TV portrays men as ‘useless’ fools
-
Codeword: December 3, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
What is Donald Trump planning in Latin America?Today’s Big Question US ramps up feud with Colombia over drug trade, while deploying military in the Caribbean to attack ships and increase tensions with Venezuela
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
