First Openly Gay Brazilian 2022 Presidential Candidate Running

Amidst the Brazilian 2022 presidential election, candidate and governor of Rio Grande do Sul Eduardo Leite revealed he was a gay man. Leite coming out makes him the first openly gay presidential candidate to ever run for office in the country. This announcement received mixed reviews, as some critics blasted him for his previous support of Brazil’s homophobic, far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro.

In an interview with TV Globo, the largest television network in the entire country of Brazil, he decided to use the platform to open up about his sexuality, stating,“I have never spoken about a subject related to my private life. But, during this moment of low integrity in Brazil, I have nothing to hide; I am gay.” In this interview, he clarified himself by adding that he is “a governor who is gay, not a gay governor. I’m proud of that,” which is a spin-off of the former U.S. President Barack Obama, who said he is “a president who is Black, not a Black president.”

Leite is not only the first openly gay man to be a governor of a Brazilian state, but the nation’s youngest governor to be serving in office. He disclosed he’d hoped the news of him coming out would be a “non issue” in the upcoming presidential contest, as he will face off in the Brazilian Social Democratic party (PSDB) October primary. Leite will be head-to-head with the governor of Sao Paulo and member of the Federal Senate of Brazil, João Doria.

Leite has already received backlash over his sexuality, noting that coming out was vital, but was also provoked by “ever-growing attacks” from political opponents. These grotesque attacks included the far-right, homophobic leader who was elected in the 2018 presidency, Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro recently joked that Leite “might have concealed federal resources in his anus.”

Leite, on the other hand, won’t stand for these bigoted remarks, saying, “I go out to dinner with my boyfriend; I do not hide from anyone, but there has always been some brouhaha, some allusion, a joke from the president, attacks from other politicians. This is not right; it is not correct; it is not tolerable.”

Leite later tweeted that the “messages of care and support” he has been receiving since he announced his coming out “convinced” him that “love will defeat hatred,” although support didn’t exactly follow. Before coming out, Leite was a supporter of Bolsonaro during the 2018 race and has yet to retract his support for Bolsonaro at this time.

As inúmeras mensagens de carinho e apoio que estou recebendo me deixam absolutamente seguro: o amor vai vencer o ódio! Muito muito muito obrigado a todos! ❤️

— Eduardo Leite (@EduardoLeite_)
July 2, 2021