Not all Brazilian MMA fighters support Jair Bolsonaro
Far-right politician Jair Bolsonaro became Brazil’s president in 2019 after a campaign fuelled by dangerous rhetoric that targeted marginalized groups in the country. After winning the election Bolsonaro became one of the most powerful COVID-19 deniers and vaccine skeptics in the world.
In 2022 Brazilians voted Bolsonaro out of office, replacing him with former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Since then far-right protesters have stormed Brazil’s capital and demanded that the military enact a coup against the newly democratically elected leader.
Through Bolsonaro career, spanning from his time as Presidential candidate, President and exile, the former military officer has enjoyed the support from many influential Brazilian athletes. Dozens of famous and successful soccer players and mixed martial artists have advocated on Bolsonaro’s behalf, despite the man saying things as egregious as that he would prefer if his son was dead rather than gay.
Jose Aldo, Deiveson Figueiredo, Amanda Nunes, Paulo Costa are just a few of the names who have publicly expressed their support. However, not all Brazilian fighters (and certainly not all Brazilians) support far-right politics or the insurrectionists who are trying to destroy the country’s democracy.
In this story stream, Bloody Elbow’s Brazil correspondent Lucas Rezende speaks to those fighters who want to make it clear that not all Brazilian fighters support Jair Bolsonaro.