The Financial Times has pulled its involvement in an event honouring Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, after a campaign by LGBT rights activists against the celebration of the self-declared homophobe.
The recently elected South American leader is due to be honoured at the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce’s person of the year gala dinner, which is scheduled to take place in New York later this month.
The FT is one of several prominent sponsors and partners of the event, including the management consultancy Bain & Company and Delta Airlines, who have pulled their involvement after pressure from the campaigning organisation GLAAD.
A spokesperson for the the newspaper confirmed it would no longer be a media partner for the ceremony to honouring Bolsonaro, but added it intended to “maintain a partnership with the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce” on other events.
The growing boycott leaves the dozens of remaining British and American sponsors in a tricky position, as they have to choose between their desire to match public statements of support for LGBT rights with their desire to do business in one of the world’s most important emerging economies.
Many multinationals, including banks such as Morgan Stanley, Santander, and HSBC, remain listed as sponsors of the event, which was originally due to be held at the American Museum of Natural History in New York but had to change venue after protests.
The debate surrounding the event has echoes of the corporate boycott of Brunei-owned hotels which came about after protests against laws criminalising LGBT people under threat of the death penalty, and has shown how placing pressure on corporations to live up to their public statements on diversity can cause them to pull their accounts.
The gala boycott also underlines the damage done to Brazil’s international reputation by Bolsonaro, a populist known for his hostility to human rights, LGBT people and the environment.
Last week he said he wanted to stop Brazil being a “gay tourism paradise”.
“If you want to come here and have sex with a woman, go for your life,” Bolsonaro reportedly told journalists. “But we can’t let this place become known as a gay tourism paradise. Brazil can’t be a country of the gay world, of gay tourism. We have families.”
He has previously said he would rather his son died than be gay and that same-sex couples living in an apartment block can cause house prices to fall.
Bolsonaro has managed to become “almost a pariah”, according to a former Brazilian ambassador to the US. “People see him as a dangerous man,” Rubens Ricupero told the Guardian.
In the 21st century, a country’s international image was based largely on issues such as tolerance, human rights, respect for the environment and equality, Ricupero said. “And in all of these areas the current Brazilian government has odious positions. This will have serious consequences, even in terms of the economy and trade.”
Sarah Kate Ellis, the chief executive of GLAAD, said her organisation would continue to campaign against businesses associated with the gala to honour Bolsonaro.
“It’s imperative that the companies and organisations associated with this event understand the egregious anti-LGBTQ record and rhetoric of the Brazilian president and stand by LGBTQ people in Brazil and everywhere by withdrawing their support. His brand of anti-LGBTQ activism is actively harming LGBTQ Brazilians and companies that host or participate in this celebration of him need to take a stand,” she said.
