Brazil's First Openly Gay Presidential Candidate Makes History -- And Sparks Criticism
Brazilian governor Eduardo Leite was met with a mixed reception after coming out as gay amid his 2022 presidential run. While the admission makes him the country’s first-ever openly gay presidential candidate, critics blasted Leite’s previous support of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s homophobic, far-right leader.
Leite, a candidate representing the centrist Brazilian Social Democratic party (PSDB) in next year’s elections, opened up about his sexual orientation for the first time in a Thursday interview with TV Globo, the country’s largest television network.
“I have never spoken about a subject related to my private life,” he said. “But during this moment of low integrity in Brazil, I have nothing to hide, I am gay.”
Leite currently serves as governor of Rio Grande do Sul, a populous state located at the southernmost tip of Brazil along the Uruguay border. At 36, he is the nation’s youngest governor to be currently serving in office, and his coming out makes him the first openly gay man to be governor of a Brazilian state.
https://www.them.us/story/brazil-first-openly-gay-presidential-candidate-eduardo-leite
