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{{short description|Brazilian politician}}
{{Portuguese name|Matos|Santos}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2016}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2016}}

{{Infobox officeholder {{Infobox officeholder
|name = Jean Wyllys | name = Jean Wyllys
⚫ | image = Jean Wyllys, 2015 (cropped).jpg
⚫ |office = ]<br>from ]
|image = Jean Wyllys, 2015 (cropped).jpg | caption = Wyllys in 2015
⚫ | office = ] for ]
⚫ |caption = Jean Wyllys in 2015
|party = ] | term_start = 1 February 2011
⚫ | term_end = 31 January 2019
⚫ |birth_date = {{birth date and age|1974|3|10|df=y}}
| predecessor =
⚫ |birth_place = ], ], ]
| successor = ]
⚫ |religion =
|website = | birth_name = Jean Wyllys de Matos Santos
⚫ | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1974|3|10|df=y}}
|term_start = 1 February 2011
⚫ | birth_place = ], ], ]
⚫ |term_end =
⚫ | religion =
| Facebook page = https://www.facebook.com/jairmessias.bolsonaro/?fref=ts
| party = ] (2021–present)
| otherparty = ] (2009–21)
| website = {{URL|http://www.jeanwyllys.com.br}}
}} }}
'''Jean Wyllys de Matos Santos''' ({{IPA|pt-BR|ʒeˈɐ̃ ˈwiliz dʒi ˈmatus ˈsɐ̃tus|lang}}; born 10 March 1974) is a Brazilian lecturer, journalist and politician who rose to fame after winning the ] of '']''. He was also notable as being Brazil's second openly gay member of parliament and the first congressman to be a gay-rights activist.<ref name=Guard>, Guardian, retrieved 27 January 2012</ref>{{efn|] was the first openly gay elected member of Parliament, but unlike Wyllys, Clodovil was not a gay rights activist, i.e. he was opposed to ].<ref>http://acapa.virgula.uol.com.br/politica/com-quase-500-mil-votos-clodovil-e-o-primeiro-gay-eleito-para-o-cargo-de-deputado-federal/2/5/372 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306220943/http://acapa.virgula.uol.com.br/politica/com-quase-500-mil-votos-clodovil-e-o-primeiro-gay-eleito-para-o-cargo-de-deputado-federal/2/5/372 |date=March 6, 2012 }} With about 500 thousand votes, Clodovil is the first gay elected for federal deputy (Portuguese)</ref>}} He has been compared to ] for his work.<ref name=Guard/> In 2019, citing death threats, he resigned from his seat in Congress.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-24/gay-brazilian-congressman-resigns-his-seat-citing-death-threats | title=Gay Brazilian Congressman Resigns, Citing Death Threats | newspaper=Bloomberg.com | date=January 24, 2019 }}</ref>

'''Jean Wyllys''' (born '''Jean Wyllys de Matos Santos'''{{efn|{{IPA-pt|ʒeˈɐ̃ ˈwiljs d͡ʒj ˈmatws ˈsɐ̃tws|br}}.}} on 10 March 1974 in ], Bahia, ]) is a Brazilian lecturer, journalist and politician who rose to fame after winning the ] of '']''. He is also notable for being Brazil's second openly homossexual member in the ], being compared to ], an openly gay rights activist and U.S. politician.<ref name="Guard">, Guardian, retrieved 27 January 2012</ref>


==Life== ==Life==
Wyllys was born in ], in the north-eastern state of ], one of seven children.<ref name=Guard/> His mother was a washerwoman and his father a car painter who suffered from alcoholism.<ref name=Guard/> Wyllys attended a boarding school which gave him the opportunity to get a better education than the average child in his village. Wyllys later moved to ] and completed his degree in journalism at the ].<ref name=Guard/> He first rose to fame after becoming the finalist in the Brazilian reality television show, '']''. He was the first openly gay participant in the show, which caused a lot of controversy amongst fans and participants alike. Wyllys described his victory as being of "great political relevance I said I was a homosexual and I still won the reality show in a country that is ]."<ref name=Guard/> Wyllys was born in ], in the northeastern state of ], one of seven children.<ref name=Guard/> His mother was a washerwoman and his father a car painter who suffered from alcoholism.<ref name=Guard/> Wyllys attended a boarding school, which gave him the opportunity to get a better education than the average child in his village. Wyllys later moved to ] and obtained his bachelor's degree in journalism at the ].<ref name=Guard/> He first rose to fame after becoming the finalist in the Brazilian reality television show, '']'' in its fifth season in 2005. He was the first openly gay participant in the show, which caused controversy amongst fans and participants alike. Wyllys described his victory as being of "great political relevance I said I was a homosexual and I still won the TV show in a country that is ]."<ref name=Guard/>


===Political career=== ===Political career===
In 2010 Wyllys was elected a federal MP, representing the ] party, with an average of 13,000 votes.<ref>http://ultimosegundo.ig.com.br/eleicoes/exbbb-jean-wyllys-e-eleito-deputado-federal/n1237790770320.html</ref> His election was only possible, considering the number of votes he had in 2010 elections, through the so called "voto de legenda" (party vote), a constitutional mechanism that allows candidates who doesn't have an expressive number of votes to be elected from the votes of another highly voted candidate of the same party.<ref>http://g1.globo.com/especiais/eleicoes-2010/noticia/2010/10/confira-puxadores-de-voto-que-ajudaram-eleger-outros-candidatos.html</ref> In Wyllys' case, the votes of another congressman of ], Chico Alencar, who was one of the most voted in ], helped in his election. Once occupying a chair in ], Wyllys brought his activism on the ] to the scene. Once forgotten by Brazilian media since his winning in the ] fifth season in 2005, five years before his election, he was finally back to the spotlight from the moment he started working on his political platform, that was primarily the fight for ]. By doing this, he ended up confronting prominent Brazilian right-wing figures, like pastor ], a famous televangelist and national president of ] Churches, and ], a congress member who became Wyllys' number one enemy in the congress. The proposition of three polemic law projects by Wyllys made him a notorious figure for the liberal and leftist society members, as well as a threatening figure for some conservative and the religious members. In those law projects are included the prostitution houses legalization, the marijuana production and use regulation, the inclusion of Arabic and Islam studies in Brazilian school curricula and the State financing for ] and ] for ] teenagers and adults.<ref>http://www.camara.gov.br/proposicoesWeb/fichadetramitacao?idProposicao=565315</ref><ref>http://www.camara.gov.br/sileg/integras/905839.pdf</ref><ref>http://www.camara.gov.br/proposicoesWeb/prop_mostrarintegra?codteor=1012829</ref><ref>http://www.camara.gov.br/proposicoesWeb/prop_mostrarintegra?codteor=1237297</ref> In 2010 Wyllys was elected a federal member of ], representing the ] party, with an average of 13,000 votes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ultimosegundo.ig.com.br/eleicoes/exbbb-jean-wyllys-e-eleito-deputado-federal/n1237790770320.html|title=Ex-BBB Jean Wyllys é eleito deputado federal - Eleições - iG|first=Flávia Salme, iG Rio de|last=Janeiro|date=October 4, 2010|website=Último Segundo|accessdate=January 24, 2019|archive-date=November 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120095457/https://ultimosegundo.ig.com.br/eleicoes/exbbb-jean-wyllys-e-eleito-deputado-federal/n1237790770320.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> His election was only possible, considering the number of votes he had in 2010 elections, through the so-called "voto de legenda" (party vote), a constitutional mechanism that allows candidates who don't have a large number of votes to be elected through votes of another highly voted candidate of the same party.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://g1.globo.com/especiais/eleicoes-2010/noticia/2010/10/confira-puxadores-de-voto-que-ajudaram-eleger-outros-candidatos.html|title=Confira 'puxadores' de voto que ajudaram a eleger outros candidatos|first1=Mariana OliveiraDo|last1=G1|first2=em São|last2=Paulo|date=October 4, 2010|website=Eleições 2010|accessdate=January 24, 2019}}</ref> In Wyllys's case, the votes of another congressman of ], Chico Alencar, who was one of the most voted in ], helped in his election. Upon occupying a seat in Congress, Wyllys brought his ] activism to the scene. He started working on his political platform, which was primarily focused on the fight for ]. In so doing, he ended up confronting prominent Brazilian right-wing figures, such as pastor ], a famous televangelist and national president of the ] Churches, and ], a congressman (later elected president) who became Wyllys's nemesis in the Brazilian Congress. Wyllys at one point spat at congressman Bolsonaro during the voting of President ]'s ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/shannonsims/2016/04/18/the-most-outrageous-moments-of-brazils-impeachment-hearing/|title=The Most Outrageous Moments of Brazil's Impeachment Hearing|last=Sims|first=Shannon|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=2019-05-01}}</ref> In Congress, Wyllys proposed three controversial pieces of legislation, including the regulation of prostitution, the legalization and government regulation of marijuana production, and the government financing of ] and ] for ] teenagers and adults.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.camara.gov.br/proposicoesWeb/fichadetramitacao?idProposicao=565315 |title=Projeto de Lei 5002/2013 |publisher=Camara.gov.br |accessdate=2019-01-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.camara.gov.br/sileg/integras/905839.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=November 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160706125948/http://www.camara.gov.br/sileg/integras/905839.pdf |archive-date=July 6, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.camara.gov.br/proposicoesWeb/prop_mostrarintegra?codteor=1012829 |title=Lei Gabriela Leite |format=pdf |access-date=2019-09-30| language=pt| date=July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.camara.gov.br/proposicoesWeb/prop_mostrarintegra?codteor=1237297 |title=Sistema Nacional de Políticas Públicas sobre Drogas |format=pdf |access-date=2019-09-30| language=pt| date=2014}}</ref>


Wyllys' political acting of defending ] and his very existence as an ] congress member and human rights activist have transformed him in a public enemy of conservative political forces in ]. In a country with a wide rate of homophobic crimes as Brazil, he began to receive ] that became more recurrent since his political enemies started a slanderous campaign against him by posting and sharing in social media like Facebook images with quotes that he have supposedly said about being an openly pedophile defender, for example.<ref>http://extra.globo.com/famosos/jean-wyllys-ganha-protecao-policial-ao-sofrer-ameaca-de-morte-8063027.html</ref> Among other quotes attributed to him, the one that he had affirmed that the Bible was "a joke" Christians and Bible followers were "clowns" was highly spread. In spite of those quotes had never been existed, people in social networks still share them, strengthening the ongoing hate campaign against Wyllys. To clean up his image damaged by that orchestrated campaign, he created a section on his official website where he refutes all the quotes attributed to him.<ref>http://jeanwyllys.com.br/verdadeoumentira/</ref> Although his political image in the public sphere had been degraded by the slanderous campaign, he ran for congress once again in 2014 and kept his chair in the parliament with more than 100,000 votes, being the seventh most voted representative of Rio de Janeiro.<ref>http://blogs.odia.ig.com.br/lgbt/2014/10/05/jean-wyllys-e-reeleito-deputado-federal-com-mais-de-100-mil-votos/</ref> Wyllys' defense of ] and his existence as an ] Congress member and human rights activist have made him a public enemy of conservative political forces in ]. Living in a country with such a high rate of homophobic crimes as Brazil,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/22/brazil-lgbt-violence-deaths-all-time-high-new-research |title=Violent deaths of LGBT people in Brazil hit all-time high |work=The Guardian |date=January 22, 2018 |accessdate=1 May 2019}}</ref> Wyllys began to receive ]. These became more recurrent after his political enemies began a campaign against him by posting and sharing in social media, including Facebook, images with quotes attributed to him, portraying him as being openly a paedophile.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://extra.globo.com/famosos/jean-wyllys-ganha-protecao-policial-ao-sofrer-ameaca-de-morte-8063027.html|title=Jean Wyllys ganha proteção policial ao sofrer ameaça de morte|date=April 9, 2013|website=Extra Online|accessdate=January 24, 2019}}</ref> Among other remarks falsely attributed to him was one which stated that the Bible was "a joke" and that Christians and Bible followers were "clowns." This was widely circulated. Nevertheless, people in social networks still shared them, strengthening the ongoing hate campaign against Wyllys. To repair his image damaged by the orchestrated campaign, he created a section on his official webpage where he refutes all the quotes attributed to him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jeanwyllys.com.br/verdadeoumentira/|title=Verdade ou Mentira?|website=jeanwyllys.com.br|language=pt|accessdate=January 24, 2019}}</ref> Although his political image in the public sphere had been tarnished by the slanderous campaign, Wyllys ran for congress once again in 2014 and kept his seat in parliament with more than 100,000 votes, receiving the seventh most votes among representatives from Rio de Janeiro.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://odia.ig.com.br/index.php?id=/blogs/index.php|title=Blogs|publisher=O Dia|language=pt|date=January 24, 2019|accessdate=January 24, 2019}}</ref>


Today Wyllys works on the front line of ]'s government opposition. It was announced in 2015 that Brazilian independent filmmakers were planning to produce a documentary about Wyllys' political career and acting. The documentary was released in 2016 with the title "Entre os Homens de Bem" (Among the Virtuous Men) and it focuses on the political arena in Brazil built on topics such as ] and other LGBT rights, having Wyllys and some conservative politicians as the main characters. In the same year, Wyllys was included in a list called "Top 50 global personalities with an outstanding commitment to diversity".<ref>http://ceoworld.biz/2015/11/24/top-50-global-personalities-with-an-outstanding-commitment-to-diversity</ref> In 2015, it was announced that Brazilian independent filmmakers were planning to produce a documentary about Wyllys's political career and activism. The documentary was released in 2016 with the title "Entre os Homens de Bem" (Among Virtuous Men). The documentary focuses on the political arena in Brazil and addresses topics such as ] and LGBT rights, and features Wyllys and his conservative opponents. In that same year, Wyllys was included in the "Top 50 global personalities with an outstanding commitment to diversity" list.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ceoworld.biz/2015/11/24/top-50-global-personalities-with-an-outstanding-commitment-to-diversity/|title=Top 50 global personalities with an outstanding commitment to diversity|first=Dr Amarendra Bhushan|last=Dhiraj|date=November 24, 2015|publisher=Ceoworld Magazine|accessdate=January 24, 2019}}</ref>


==== Resignation ====
==Controversies==
Wyllys was re-elected to a third term as a member of Congress in the ]. However, the campaign took a toll on him. His close friend, Rio de Janeiro city councillor ], was fatally shot in March 2018. In January 2019, just days before the February 1 swearing-in of the ], Wyllys released a note from overseas stating that he would not return to Brazil due to alleged death threats and that he would not assume his position as congressman. He told the ''Folha de São Paulo'' newspaper that he did not want to live four years under close security watch.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/24/jean-wyllys-brazils-openly-gay-congressman-leaves-job-country-amid-death-threats|title=Brazil's sole openly gay congressman leaves country after death threats|date=2019-01-24|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-01-25|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> He was replaced in the Chamber of Deputies by ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://g1.globo.com/politica/noticia/2019/01/24/deputado-jean-wyllys-nao-tomara-posse-para-novo-mandato-diz-assessoria.ghtml|title=Jean Wyllys decide não tomar posse para novo mandato em razão de ameaças|website=G1|date=January 24, 2019 |language=pt|accessdate=January 24, 2019}}</ref> Soon after news of Wyllys' resignation broke, President Bolsonaro reacted on Twitter, by posting the phrase "Great day" followed by a "]" emoji. His son, ], also tweeted: "Godspeed and be happy".<ref name=":0" />
In 2013, Wyllys was accused of being the author of ] phrases and in defense of ] which were disseminated on the Internet. In his defense, he stated he did not write the sentences and was a target of a defamatory campaign.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318173913/http://colunistas.ig.com.br/jean-wyllys/2013/03/14/novas-e-velhas-calunias/|title=Novas e velhas calúnias {{!}} Blog de Jean Wyllys – iG|date=2013-03-18|access-date=2018-12-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219135928/http://psol50.org.br/site/noticias/116/nova-onda-de-calunias-contra-o-deputado-jean-wyllys-e-disseminada-pela-internet|title=PSOL 50 {{!}} Nova onda de calúnias contra o deputado Jean Wyllys é disseminada pela internet|date=2013-12-19|access-date=2018-12-01}}</ref>


=== Life after Congress ===
In July 2013, in the ''Tas ao vivo'' talk-show, when asked about the remuneration of Brazilian parliamentarians, Wyllys declared that he did not find the remuneration excessive and compared his earnings with the salary of a private university professor: "When you deduct everything, the party contribution, income tax, I pretty much get what I used to earn as a teacher , which is about R$15.000. Considering how much I work, I do not think this is a high salary."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130710200135/http://diversao.terra.com.br/tas-ao-vivo/videos/jean-wyllys-abre-o-jogo-sobre-salario-de-deputado,476727.html|title=Jean Wyllys abre o jogo sobre salário de deputado - Terra|date=2013-07-10|access-date=2018-12-01}}</ref> The statement had an impact on the Internet creating a heated debate and controversy. In his defense, Wyllys stated that he "did not say that the members 'earn a low salary', nor that the salary of a deputy is equal to a professor but that after the mandatory deductions, what goes into my pocket every month is less than I would earn today, considering my qualification, if I worked in the private sector."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324065252/http://www.cartacapital.com.br/politica/voce-quer-saber-quanto-recebe-um-deputado-8802.html|title=Você quer saber quanto recebe um deputado? — CartaCapital|date=2016-03-24|access-date=2018-12-01}}</ref>
As of 2022, Wyllys is performing doctoral research on “fake news” at the ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jean Wyllys |url=https://www.cccb.org/en/participants/file/jean-wyllys/238866 |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=CCCB |language=en}}</ref> Wyllys returned to Brazil for the first time in July 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-01 |title=Jean Wyllys volta ao Brasil após 4 anos |url=https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2023/07/jean-wyllys-volta-ao-brasil-apos-4-anos.shtml |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=Folha de S.Paulo |language=pt-BR}}</ref> In May 2024, Wyllys called for Lula to not run for a fourth term in 2026, instead endorsing ] as a potential successor.<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.2i9.com.br |first=2i9 multiagência- |title=Filiado ao PT, Jean Wyllys defende candidatura de Simone Tebet em 2026 |url=https://www.7segundos.com.br/maceio/noticias/2024/05/27/251855-filiado-ao-pt-jean-wyllys-defende-candidatura-de-simone-tebet-em-2026 |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=7Segundos |language=pt-br}}</ref>

In October 2014, during the ], Wyllys classified, through a social network, the majority of ] voters as "], racists and violent". Shortly after the episode, Wyllys portrayed himself saying that he "actually meant that a good part and not most of those voters fall into this disqualifying labels".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101003231/https://veja.abril.com.br/blog/felipe-moura-brasil/2014/10/13/as-falsas-desculpas-de-jean-wyllys-deputado-apaga-post-ofensivo-mas-xinga-mais-ainda-eleitores-de-aecio-agora-nao-ha-so-racistas-e-classistas-ha-fascistas-e-homofobicos-tambem-linha-auxiliar-do/|title=As falsas desculpas de Jean Wyllys: deputado apaga post ofensivo, mas xinga mais ainda eleitores de Aécio. Agora não há só racistas e classistas, há fascistas e homofóbicos também. “Linha auxiliar do PT” segue alinhada na baixaria {{!}} Felipe Moura Brasil - VEJA.com|date=2014-11-01|access-date=2018-12-01}}</ref>

In November of 2014, Wyllys was criticized by leaders of his own party and by ] rights group for defending the TV show {{ILL|Sexo e as Negas|pt|''Sexo e as Negas''}}, shown by ]. Wyllys said that, unlike those who accused the show of being sexist and racist, the production actually "denounces racism" and stated that ], the director of the show, is a guy who is far, far away of being racist". However, the TV show has been denounced to the Secretary of Policies for Women and is still subject to criticism by women and afro-descendants movements.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.diariodepernambuco.com.br/app/noticia/politica/2014/11/18/interna_politica,543467/jean-wyllys-diz-que-minisserie-sexo-e-as-negas-denuncia-o-racismo-no-brasil.shtml|title=Jean Wyllys diz que minissérie Sexo e as Negas denuncia o racismo no Brasil|last=Pernambuco|first=Diario de|date=2014-11-18|work=Diario de Pernambuco|access-date=2018-12-01|language=pt-BR}}</ref>


==Notes== ==Notes==
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Latest revision as of 01:28, 25 November 2024

Brazilian politician In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Matos and the second or paternal family name is Santos.

Jean Wyllys
Wyllys in 2015
Federal Deputy for Rio de Janeiro
In office
1 February 2011 – 31 January 2019
Succeeded byDavid Miranda
Personal details
BornJean Wyllys de Matos Santos
(1974-03-10) 10 March 1974 (age 50)
Alagoinhas, Bahia, Brazil
Political partyPT (2021–present)
Other political
affiliations		PSOL (2009–21)
Websitewww.jeanwyllys.com.br

Jean Wyllys de Matos Santos (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʒeˈɐ̃ ˈwiliz dʒi ˈmatus ˈsɐ̃tus]; born 10 March 1974) is a Brazilian lecturer, journalist and politician who rose to fame after winning the fifth season of Big Brother Brasil. He was also notable as being Brazil's second openly gay member of parliament and the first congressman to be a gay-rights activist. He has been compared to Harvey Milk for his work. In 2019, citing death threats, he resigned from his seat in Congress.

Life

Wyllys was born in Alagoinhas, in the northeastern state of Bahia, one of seven children. His mother was a washerwoman and his father a car painter who suffered from alcoholism. Wyllys attended a boarding school, which gave him the opportunity to get a better education than the average child in his village. Wyllys later moved to Salvador and obtained his bachelor's degree in journalism at the Federal University of Bahia. He first rose to fame after becoming the finalist in the Brazilian reality television show, Big Brother Brasil in its fifth season in 2005. He was the first openly gay participant in the show, which caused controversy amongst fans and participants alike. Wyllys described his victory as being of "great political relevance I said I was a homosexual and I still won the TV show in a country that is homophobic."

Political career

In 2010 Wyllys was elected a federal member of the Brazilian Congress, representing the Socialism and Freedom party, with an average of 13,000 votes. His election was only possible, considering the number of votes he had in 2010 elections, through the so-called "voto de legenda" (party vote), a constitutional mechanism that allows candidates who don't have a large number of votes to be elected through votes of another highly voted candidate of the same party. In Wyllys's case, the votes of another congressman of Socialism and Liberty Party, Chico Alencar, who was one of the most voted in Rio de Janeiro, helped in his election. Upon occupying a seat in Congress, Wyllys brought his LGBT movement activism to the scene. He started working on his political platform, which was primarily focused on the fight for LGBT rights. In so doing, he ended up confronting prominent Brazilian right-wing figures, such as pastor Silas Malafaia, a famous televangelist and national president of the Assembly of God Churches, and Jair Bolsonaro, a congressman (later elected president) who became Wyllys's nemesis in the Brazilian Congress. Wyllys at one point spat at congressman Bolsonaro during the voting of President Dilma Rousseff's impeachment. In Congress, Wyllys proposed three controversial pieces of legislation, including the regulation of prostitution, the legalization and government regulation of marijuana production, and the government financing of sex reassignment surgeries and hormonal treatment for transgender teenagers and adults.

Wyllys' defense of minority rights and his existence as an openly gay Congress member and human rights activist have made him a public enemy of conservative political forces in Brazil. Living in a country with such a high rate of homophobic crimes as Brazil, Wyllys began to receive death threats. These became more recurrent after his political enemies began a campaign against him by posting and sharing in social media, including Facebook, images with quotes attributed to him, portraying him as being openly a paedophile. Among other remarks falsely attributed to him was one which stated that the Bible was "a joke" and that Christians and Bible followers were "clowns." This was widely circulated. Nevertheless, people in social networks still shared them, strengthening the ongoing hate campaign against Wyllys. To repair his image damaged by the orchestrated campaign, he created a section on his official webpage where he refutes all the quotes attributed to him. Although his political image in the public sphere had been tarnished by the slanderous campaign, Wyllys ran for congress once again in 2014 and kept his seat in parliament with more than 100,000 votes, receiving the seventh most votes among representatives from Rio de Janeiro.

In 2015, it was announced that Brazilian independent filmmakers were planning to produce a documentary about Wyllys's political career and activism. The documentary was released in 2016 with the title "Entre os Homens de Bem" (Among Virtuous Men). The documentary focuses on the political arena in Brazil and addresses topics such as gay marriage and LGBT rights, and features Wyllys and his conservative opponents. In that same year, Wyllys was included in the "Top 50 global personalities with an outstanding commitment to diversity" list.

Resignation

Wyllys was re-elected to a third term as a member of Congress in the 2018 election. However, the campaign took a toll on him. His close friend, Rio de Janeiro city councillor Marielle Franco, was fatally shot in March 2018. In January 2019, just days before the February 1 swearing-in of the 56th Congress, Wyllys released a note from overseas stating that he would not return to Brazil due to alleged death threats and that he would not assume his position as congressman. He told the Folha de São Paulo newspaper that he did not want to live four years under close security watch. He was replaced in the Chamber of Deputies by David Miranda. Soon after news of Wyllys' resignation broke, President Bolsonaro reacted on Twitter, by posting the phrase "Great day" followed by a "thumbs-up" emoji. His son, Carlos Bolsonaro, also tweeted: "Godspeed and be happy".

Life after Congress

As of 2022, Wyllys is performing doctoral research on “fake news” at the University of Barcelona. Wyllys returned to Brazil for the first time in July 2023. In May 2024, Wyllys called for Lula to not run for a fourth term in 2026, instead endorsing Simone Tebet as a potential successor.

Notes

  1. Clodovil Hernandes was the first openly gay elected member of Parliament, but unlike Wyllys, Clodovil was not a gay rights activist, i.e. he was opposed to same-sex marriage.

References

  1. ^ Jean Wyllys, Brazil's first openly gay MP, takes fight to the religious right, Guardian, retrieved 27 January 2012
  2. http://acapa.virgula.uol.com.br/politica/com-quase-500-mil-votos-clodovil-e-o-primeiro-gay-eleito-para-o-cargo-de-deputado-federal/2/5/372 Archived March 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine With about 500 thousand votes, Clodovil is the first gay elected for federal deputy (Portuguese)
  3. "Gay Brazilian Congressman Resigns, Citing Death Threats". Bloomberg.com. January 24, 2019.
  4. Janeiro, Flávia Salme, iG Rio de (October 4, 2010). "Ex-BBB Jean Wyllys é eleito deputado federal - Eleições - iG". Último Segundo. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. G1, Mariana OliveiraDo; Paulo, em São (October 4, 2010). "Confira 'puxadores' de voto que ajudaram a eleger outros candidatos". Eleições 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. Sims, Shannon. "The Most Outrageous Moments of Brazil's Impeachment Hearing". Forbes. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  7. "Projeto de Lei 5002/2013". Camara.gov.br. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  8. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 6, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Lei Gabriela Leite" (pdf) (in Portuguese). July 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  10. "Sistema Nacional de Políticas Públicas sobre Drogas" (pdf) (in Portuguese). 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  11. "Violent deaths of LGBT people in Brazil hit all-time high". The Guardian. January 22, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  12. "Jean Wyllys ganha proteção policial ao sofrer ameaça de morte". Extra Online. April 9, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  13. "Verdade ou Mentira?". jeanwyllys.com.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  14. "Blogs" (in Portuguese). O Dia. January 24, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  15. Dhiraj, Dr Amarendra Bhushan (November 24, 2015). "Top 50 global personalities with an outstanding commitment to diversity". Ceoworld Magazine. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  16. ^ "Brazil's sole openly gay congressman leaves country after death threats". The Guardian. January 24, 2019. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  17. "Jean Wyllys decide não tomar posse para novo mandato em razão de ameaças". G1 (in Portuguese). January 24, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  18. "Jean Wyllys". CCCB. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  19. "Jean Wyllys volta ao Brasil após 4 anos". Folha de S.Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). July 1, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  20. www.2i9.com.br, 2i9 multiagência-. "Filiado ao PT, Jean Wyllys defende candidatura de Simone Tebet em 2026". 7Segundos (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved November 25, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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