A New Beginning

LGBTQ+ Members of Brazil’s Police Force Find Hope Under a New Presidency

On October 30th, Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva defeated right-wing incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro, in Brazil’s presidential election. The two men differed greatly in their visions for Brazil’s future. From gun rights, to the role of religion in society, Brazilians had to choose between two political philosophies which would guide their country for the next four years. 

Bolsonaro and Lula also contrasted significantly on social issues. And regarding LGBTQ+ human rights, the two candidates couldn’t be more different. Bolsonaro, a self-described homophobe, has said he would prefer a dead son to a gay son. Meanwhile, Lula has described homophobia as “the most perverse disease impregnated in the human head.” 

Therefore, many LGBTQ+ Brazilians around the country celebrated Lula’s historic victory. 

But after the election, the celebration of one group of queer and trans Brazilians was diminished by their premonitions for what would lie ahead. LGBTQ+ police in Brazil braced themselves for a conservative backlash and tense confrontations with their colleagues, many of whom supported Bolsonaro. 

Brazil’s police force is a traditionally conservative institution. Many LGBTQ+ police, though, voted for Lula due to their perception of Bolsonaro as a homophobic, racist, and fascist figure. And now, two months after the president lost his re-election bid, queer and trans police officers are reflecting on the last four years and wondering what lies ahead. 

To better understand the experiences of LGBTQ+ police in Brazil, INTO spoke with 10 LGBTQ+ officers in the civil and military police about discrimination, being out at work, and their hopes for the future.

“I didn’t have the slightest security to come out without risking violence or being excluded from the police. The politics and hate speech promoted by Bolsonaro seriously affected those of us outside the heteronormative cis standard.”

Anderson Cavichioli is a Chief of Civil Police and the President of RENOSP LGBTI+, a national organization for LGBTQ+ Brazilian police officers. According to Cavichioli, he works in an environment which is “markedly homotransphobic.” He said it is extremely difficult to be gay and a police officer in Brazil and is often referred to as the “homosexual delegate” by bigoted colleagues. 

“There are comments that doubt my ability to be in the police space. Every day is about overcoming obstacles, and I can overcome them little by little. But this comes at a great cost for me and other LGBTI+ people, it is mentally and psychologically exhausting….and Bolsonaro made the situation for LGBTI+ officers much worse.”

This “great cost” is also apparent in the comments of João Mayerhoffer, a civil police officer from Espirito Santo. 

Joao Mayerhoffer

“Most Brazilian police officers are ‘Bolsonarists’. It was very difficult to coexist with these colleagues who supported Bolsonaro because the majority are intolerant with radical and prejudiced thoughts. Those who are not Bolsonarists are a minority [in the police] and are forced to remain more reserved in the face of possible attacks from their own co-workers.”

Andréia Costa also told INTO about her troubles with her pro-Bolsonaro colleagues. She is a Civil Police Officer in Rio Grande do Norte, a state in the Northeast of Brazil. She’s also a member of Policiais Antifascismo (Anti-fascist Police), a collective formed by thousands of progressive police officers who supported Lula in the past election. 

Andreia Costas

“Being a female police officer, and above all a lesbian [officer], is challenging,” Costa says. “We need to have the courage to fight any and all forms of prejudice because we work in a sexist environment.”

Many police interviewed described the ubiquity of discrimination and its intensification, which occurred under Bolsonaro. 

Due to this discrimination, Lumen Lohn, a Major in the military police of Santa Catarina, has chosen not to publicize her trans identity among her colleagues. 

“I didn’t have the slightest security to come out without risking violence or being excluded from the police. The politics and hate speech promoted by Bolsonaro seriously affected those of us outside the heteronormative cis standard.”

Gleydson Dantas has also chosen to remain in the closet at work—only a few close colleagues know he identifies as gay. However, even while being more reserved about his sexuality, he has still experienced discrimination at work. A photo was circulated of him “artistically dancing” in an attempt to humiliate him. Another time, a colleague referred to him using female pronouns to mock him. 

Gleydson Dantas speaking

The widespread and apparent discrimination of LGBTQ+ police has led Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies to invite a trans officer to a hearing on the “poor working conditions” of the Brazilian Federal Highway Police (PRF). At this hearing held on Monday, Páris Borges Barosa, testified about her experiences as a transwoman in the PRF. She spoke about the trauma and abuse she has faced while on the job. Barosa also testified that sexual harassment, political persecution, and other kinds of prejudice have all intensified during the Bolsonaro years.

Páris Borges Barosa testifying

When asked about how their jobs differed under Bolsonaro, most officers who spoke with INTO did not point to any significant changes in policy. Rather, nearly all those interviewed referred to Bolsonaro’s homophobic and fascist rhetoric as examples of what made their lives and work as LGBTQ+ police officers more difficult.

It is for this reason that every officer who spoke to INTO voted for Lula in last year’s election. They also believe that the majority of LGBTQ+ police supported Lula, while the majority of cis and straight police officers supported Bolsonaro. 

Lohn supported Lula because of her belief that Lula would encourage the integration of all minorities into mainstream Brazilian society. But she said it was very difficult to voice her support for Lula at work.

“I’m the only person who didn’t support Bolsonaro in the section where I work. In addition to all the pressure exerted by not defending the values ​​of the extreme right, I was also bombarded by false information in an attempt to convince me to change my vote.”

“A single government will not change a culture that is still markedly LGBTphobic,” Cavichioli tells INTO. “However [Lula] can take important steps in this direction. We’ll wait and see if he will take effective actions to advance our rights. At least now [with Lula] we now have a listening ear.

As a gay officer, Dantas voted for Lula in the hopes that Brazil “could smile again” and so he could walk the streets with less fear. He tells INTO that after Bolsonaro’s election in 2018, he feared for his life. 

“I broke with my group of officers. I didn’t speak to any of them, unless it was strictly professional. I was scared of many kinds of violence and that I would no longer have anyone to turn to. There were years of hopelessness and fear.”

Dantas also lamented the lack of social progress which occurred within the police ranks during the Bolsonaro years.

“We [LGBTQ+ officers] worked without being able to make progress on sensitive issues such as the entry of trans people into the ranks of the Military Police and seeing ‘Bolsonarism’ increasingly become the guide of a process of retrogression.”

Under Lula, many LGBTQ+ police interviewed believe their situation will not improve. However, some who spoke to INTO have hope that their situation might improve under a left-wing president.

RENOSP LGBTI+, Cavichioli’s organization, is hoping Lula’s government will implement specialized centers for the prevention of LGBTQ+phobic violence, training courses for public safety officials on dealing with LGBTQ+ violence, and other progressive wishes.

However, even Cavichioli is tempered in his response as to whether positive change is possible under Lula.

“A single government will not change a culture that is still markedly LGBTphobic,” Cavichioli tells INTO. “However [Lula] can take important steps in this direction. We’ll wait and see if he will take effective actions to advance our rights. At least now [with Lula] we now have a listening ear.

Considering Lula only won by 50.9% to 49.1% margin (and Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party won the most seats in Brazil’s Congress), Lula will have an uphill battle to implement any progressive policies, let alone progressive policies within the right’s beloved police and military institutions. For now, Brazil’s LGBTQ+ officers are thankful the Bolsonaro years are over and are awaiting a new chapter under Lula.

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