Rio de Janeiro, September 29 (RHC) – Tens of thousands of Brazilian women are taking to the streets this Saturday, to protest against misogynist and divisive comments and policies of right-wing presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro.
In a series of marches stretching from Manaus in the Amazon jungle to the megacity of Sao Paulo in the nation's southeast, demonstrators organized under the hashtag #EleNao, or #NotHim, are pledging not to vote for the candidate who has made light of rape and called the gender pay gap justified.
Bolsonaro, a federal deputy from Rio de Janeiro, is the frontrunner in opinion polls. Yet he has also repelled many by commentary widely considered sexist, misogynist, and homophobic.
His biggest rival and likely opponent in a probable second round run-off is Brazil's Workers Party candidate Fernando Haddad. Former Sao Paulo mayor Haddad joined the race, after former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was barred from the election.