The man often referred to as the Donald Trump of Brazil is in hot water again.
Back in 2014, Brazilian far-right congressman Jair Bolsonaro, speaking about a fellow congresswoman, told a local magazine: “She doesn’t deserve [to be raped] because she is very bad, very ugly and isn’t my type, I would never rape her. I am not a rapist, but, if I was, I wouldn’t rape [her] because she’s not worthy of it.”
The outrage was immediate. The country’s leftist parties demanded that Bolsonaro be removed from his job, while Brazil’s Attorney General filed a criminal complaint against him. But he wasn’t formally charged with any crime.
Until now. This week, a judge in the Supreme Court accepted the complaint from the congresswoman who was the target of his remark, and will prosecute the 61-year-old Bolsonaro for allegedly inciting sexual violence against her. Bolsonaro, who has said he plans to run for president in 2018, could get up to six months in prison if convicted.
The move became a big topic of conversation on social media Wednesday in the country of 200 million people. Anti-Bolsonaro supporters were ecstatic, and #weareallAGAINSTBolsonaro was a trending hashtag.
Its incendiary comments like the one from 2014 that have led Brazilians to make comparisons between Bolsonaro and Trump. But some of Bolsonaro’s comments make Trump seem like a country gentleman. He has said, for example, that he wouldn’t be capable of loving a homosexual son and that he would rather the son died in an accident. And he has also said that women should earn less because they get pregnant. He even said that the mistake with the Brazilian dictatorship that ended in 1985 was that they tortured rather than killed people.
On Wednesday, some people took to Twitter to applaud the court’s decision.
#SomosTodosCONTRABolsonaro (esse gif me representa) pic.twitter.com/7Ty4HKj6aP
— Jul (@Poxa_Jul) June 22, 2016
Translation: “#weareallAGAINSTBolsonaro (this gif represents me),” said one person.
#SomosTodosCONTRABolsonaro YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS bEST TAG EVER <3 XD pic.twitter.com/zagIuEr0qg
— Slenvi (@oquefazer12) June 22, 2016
Soo this #SomosTodosCONTRABolsonaro tag. I like it. So very much.
— Catherine M. (@catherine_malf) June 22, 2016
But some of his fans—Bolsonaro is a seven-term congressman who has large followings among the wealthy and the religious—came to his defense.
Quem tá usando tag #SomosTodosCONTRABolsonaro, são adolescentes retardados sustentados pelos pais e nem votam ainda. Então, calem a boca!
— Raul Holderf (@raulnascimentoo) June 22, 2016
Translation: “The people using the hashtag #weareallAGAINSTBolsonaro are retarded teenagers supported by their parents that don’t even vote yet. So, Shut up!”
In the midst of the turmoil, Bolsonaro tweeted a defense of his position, mocking the hashtag #somostodosCONTRABolsonaro or #weareallAGAINSTBolsonaro in English.
Viva a "democracia e a imparcialidade"! https://t.co/7m3g9Epkzc
— Jair Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) June 21, 2016
Translation: “Long live democracy and impartiality,” he said.
