The strong female opposition to Jair Bolsonaro, far-right candidate at the Brazilian elections and former army captain from the conservative Social Liberal Party (PSL), started a social media campaign against him. Outraged by his sexist remarks, they made a non-partisan movement to stop the PSL candidate from winning the Brazilian elections this year. They created a group online called “Women United Against Bolsonaro” that was hacked and temporarily shut down by his supporters, but it didn’t stop women from fighting against the candidate, that is known by his extremist views on minority groups and support for the military dictatorship in Brazil. Using the hashtag #elenao, which means #nothim, women all over the country – and the world – have been making their points and proving that they will not accept this type of politician leading the nation.
Women mobilized against Bolsonaro and his list of sexist, racist and intolerant announcements on a Saturday, September 29, and led the protests on the streets to say no to his hate speech. Thousands of people around the world marched against the presidential candidate and his polemic views that has attracted many voters who are angry at the political situation that the country has been in for years, among many homophobic and racist people that even call him “the myth” and believe he will be the solution for all the problems, including safety, since the politician proposes arming the population to kill criminals.
Photo: David Child/Al Jazeera
Afraid of what might come to the Brazilian politics, many journalists, digital influencers and artists also went online to make it clear that they are against the candidate, joining the movement that started with the power of Brazilian women, tagging each other and asking for their positions on the case. Artists like Daniela Mercury, Patricia Pillar, Pitty, Elza Soares and many others made it very clear that they are against Bolsonaro’s intolerant speech and asked for people to go to the streets and fight for their rights.
It wasn’t restricted to a feminine movement – it extended to many male public figures that are afraid of Brazil’s future, like Caetano Veloso, who actually fought against the military dictatorship that happened in the country not long ago. Artists that are very important to the LGBT community, like the drag queen Pabllo Vittar, also are part of the movement and asked people not to vote for Bolsonaro.
Following the Brazilian public figures and celebrities that joined the movement, Madonna, the most representative singer from pop culture and, mostly, an LGBT community icon, shared a photo with the hashtag, asking for the end of fascism. And so did Dan Reynolds, lead singer of Imagine Dragons, who wore a t-shirt with the hashtag #EleNao at the iHeartRadio Music Festival and later tweeted an article about the candidate, highlighting that “this type of speech does not represent the Brazil he knew and loved”.
Moreover, The Black Eyed Peas, one of the most remarkable bands from the 2000’s, showed their support for the minorities against the tragedy that is coming to the country, as well as Nicole Scherzinger, from former Pussycat Dolls, who asked for her Brazilian fans to fight for equality, respect and love, just like other famous singers like Dua Lipa, Lauren Juregui and the DJ Diplo. Even the amazing Cher made it clear that she’s worried about Brazil.
Great artists from rock music like the ex-guitarist from the band Rage Against the Machine and Adioslave, Tom Morello, also joined the tag. Morello asked for justice for Marielle Franco, the Brazilian politician who was brutally killed on a federal intervention in Rio de Janeiro – and let’s just remember that the population still hasn’t got any answers regarding the case. And it didn’t stop there: Roger Waters, the co-founder of one of the most important rock bands in the planet, Pink Floyd, protested against neofascism at his concert in Brazil on October 10, asking his fans to resist. With shiny and big letters at the stage, he left his mark saying “#ELENAO”.
Also, people who actually personally met Bolsonaro, like the British writer and comedian Stephen Fry and the Canadian actress Ellen Page, who interviewed him, warned us about the threat to the country and to democracy that his election represents and begged people not to vote for him.
The movement has shown the power of democracy and the potential of Brazilian people. They will not stop taking the streets and making their voices heard against the presidential front-runner. They are making history and will do anything to prevent the far-right politician from leading the country with his intolerant statements and views.