The Honourable Jean Wyllys, the only openly gay congressman in Brazil, announced on January 25, 2019 that he is leaving politics because of defamatory social media campaigns and threats to his life and his family. The recently re-elected politician will not serve the new term and has left Brazil without plans to return due to pressure from Brazil’s far-right political atmosphere. Under President Jair Bolsonaro, members of the LGBTQI+ community have been disparaged and murder rates in Brazil have reached a high point. Wyllys is a strong advocate for sexual health and rights and gender equality and participated in the 2014 International Parliamentarians’ Conference on the Implementation of the IPCD Programme of Action (IPCI). He continues to support the realization of rights in Brazil from afar stating, “There are so many other ways to fight for the cause that aren’t institutional.”
