LGBT entities ignore prejudiced speech by Janones, Lula’s ally

The weeks that followed the homophobic offense that federal deputy André Janones (Avante-MG), an ally of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), directed at his colleague Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) during a hearing in the Chamber of Deputies at the end of of last month, on March 28, brought an interesting detail: the main LGBT entities, nationwide, avoided manifesting themselves on the subject. Other authorities, parties and parliamentarians who usually position themselves on related issues also ignored the episode.

The absence of repudiation notes or complaints to the Justice is strange, since Nikolas Ferreira himself was the target of a series of measures of this type on the last March 8th, after having starred in an episode, in a session in the Chamber, in which he placed a blonde wig and called herself “Member Nikole” to criticize gender ideology.

On the occasion, representative associations of the LGBT community, such as the National Alliance LGBTI+ and the Brazilian Association of Homotransfective Families, triggered the Federal Supreme Court (STF) through a criminal notice against the deputy. The PSOL bench in the Chamber also filed a criminal report with the STF for alleged transphobia and even asked for the impeachment of the parliamentarian’s mandate. Other entities, such as the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF), released notes of repudiation of the PL deputy’s speech. Ferreira’s statements also led to a “public reprimand” by the president of the house, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), for “exhibitionism” and “prejudiced speech”.

Deputy Tabata Amaral (PSB-SP), one of those who signed a request to revoke Nikolas Ferreira’s mandate for alleged transphobia, was another who ignored the episode. The day after the offense, on Twitter, she shared a publication that questioned her silence on the case, adding an ironic phrase: “I’m working”, said the deputy.

The deputy who was the target of Janones’ offenses questioned the double standard of treatment in relation to alleged homophobic speeches: “The tendency of the left is to accuse straight people of being gay. They use homosexuality as an offense,” questioned the deputy on social media.

Homophobic offense was not warned by PT deputy who conducted the hearing

The sexual offense took place during the hearing in the Chamber of Deputies with the presence of the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Flávio Dino. During the time that Nikolas Ferreira had to ask his question to the minister, Janones called his colleague a “pacifier” and “pacifier” several times (see the video).

“O the pacifier making a fuss”, said Janones in one of the interruptions. After Ferreira asked that the time count be stopped due to the interruption, Lula’s ally continued: “Nikole! Let Nicole talk.” “Can I continue?”, asks the PL parliamentarian to deputy Rui Falcão (PT-SP), president of the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ), who was conducting the hearing. “Go, little pacifier”, shouts Janones again.

Upon being intercepted once again, Ferreira interrupted his speech and began to question the content of the offenses. “President, just one question before my time. If I do that here with any congressman, they put me on the Ethics Council. Everyone here is an adult to be able to see that this happened here. So, President, may you make a decision about this, because if it were the opposite, everyone would already be ovulating. Let’s be at least fair.”

Again, in the middle of this speech, Janones interrupts him. “Shut up and speak soon, young man” and “Congratulations, pacifier”, he says, with the microphone open while everyone else had been silenced by the president of the CCJ, who did not warn the offending parliamentarian.

Nickname “chupetinha” was created after Janones related Nikolas Ferreira to fake pornographic video

The use of the words “chupeta” or “chupetinha” in relation to Nikolas Ferreira began during last year’s election campaign, weeks before the second round of voting for the presidency. While Janones was active on social media as one of Lula’s main campaigners, Ferreira was campaigning for former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

In one of several controversial posts, the pro-Lula congressman shared a pornographic video in which two men appeared performing oral sex. As one of the actors had a physical resemblance to Nikolas Ferreira, Janones started to state in the posts that it was the rival parliamentarian who participated in the scene, which resulted in a series of shares. The case gained space in some press vehicles, which did not directly point out that it was a false correlation.

Even so, in the following days Janones often directed ironies related to oral sex to his parliamentary colleague. “Screw up Nikolas”, said in a publication. “That’s right, open your mouth. You’ve taken a lot of quiet shit already. Strength!”, wrote in another post. Days later, the deputy began using the word “chupetinha” in reference to Ferreira.

Now, however, Lula’s supporter denies that the use of the offense has to do with a sexual connotation. In a note released by Twitter this afternoon, the parliamentarian said that “the nickname pacifier, as far as I know, has nothing to do with the sexual orientation of the Bolsonarist deputy”.

According to Janones, who would have created the label would be influencer Felipe Neto, who also campaigned for Lula. Last month, Neto became part of a working group created by the Ministry of Human Rights, of the federal government, whose objective was to combat “hate speech”. The influencer himself, however, ignored the homophobic connotation of Janones’ speech and went to social media to celebrate the statement: “Seeing the whole of Brazil calling this mlq a pacifier is one of the greatest prides I have in life”, he tweeted. Felipe Neto is one of the enthusiasts of the regulation of social networks, defended by the Lula government. For him, the measure would reduce offenses and hate speech on the internet.

PL will take the case to the Ethics Council; Deputy sues Janones for homophobia

The day after the aggression, deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) announced, through social media, that the Liberal Party (PL) would file a complaint with the Council of Ethics of the Chamber against André Janones, which has not yet occurred. “In the morning I telephoned President Valdemar of the PL, legitimized to represent on the ethics council, and it was agreed that the PL will join the ethics council against Rep. Janones. Other measures are also being studied”, said Eduardo Bolsonaro.

Deputy Paulo Bilynskyj (PL-SP) reported that he would file a complaint with the STF and the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) for committing the crime of homophobia. “Yesterday you witnessed at the CCJ the absurdity of André Janones calling deputy Nikolas a pacifier. We will not tolerate this type of behavior. The complaint was made. André Janones will answer for the crime of homophobia, ”he said.

Convicted of fake news, Janones collects hate speeches on social networks

In last year’s elections, André Janones took the lead in a pro-Lula election campaign via the internet in which he emphatically defended the use of fake news against the campaign of his rival, Jair Bolsonaro (PL). According to him, the use of fake news, sensationalist language and the radicalization of the debate would serve to “combat fascism and the extreme right”.

In one of the fake news published by the deputy, the Electoral Justice determined the exclusion of the post when the message had already been shared more than 5,000 times on Twitter alone.

An even greater radicalization came after the result of the first round. In various publications, the deputy made accusations or assumptions, without evidence, that Bolsonaro was an aggressor of women and a practitioner of cannibalism, that he would reduce the minimum wage in a possible new term and that he would have made a “pact” in Freemasonry – the latter fake news was focused on increasing the rejection of the former president by the Christian electorate.

Janones also tried to coin the pedophile label on Bolsonaro, as he did with Nikolas Ferreira himself. In both cases, the narrative was left to speculation and the evidence never appeared.

During the campaign, the deputy maintained several times that Lula’s eventual victory against Bolsonaro means “love overcoming hate”. However, days after the results of the polls, in which Lula won, the parliamentarian made a series of posts on social networks in which he referred to voters who voted for Bolsonaro as a “damned race” to be eliminated.