URL http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-09/30/c_137504418.htm

DATE/ AUTHOR 2018-09-30 00:00:00	AUTHORS: 

H Feature: Women-led protests held across Brazil against presidential front-runner Bolsonaro - Xinhua

S1 Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-30 21:48:39|Editor: xuxin

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S3 RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Massive protests led by Brazilian women of different political affiliations shook Brazil on Saturday, as hundreds of thousands people gathered to reject the leading presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro.

S4 The large-scale protests took place in at least 62 major cities, gathering women and men of different ages, ethnic groups, sexual orientations, social classes and political parties, campaigning for voters to choose any of 13 presidential candidates - except Bolsonaro.

S5 The largest event took place in Sao Paulo, where around 500,000 people participated.
S6 Hundreds of thousands people also gathered in Rio de Janeiro and Recife.
S7 In addition, protests were held in several foreign countries such as Argentina, France, Germany, Chile and Spain.

S8 The protests were first organized via social media under the hashtag #EleNao (NotHim) by a Facebook group named 'Women against Bolsonaro', founded in August.
S9 The protests quickly gathered millions of members - now over 3.8 million.

S10 Bolsonaro's ideas for public security, including drastically reducing gun control and shielding police officers from being prosecuted for the murder of innocents, were opposed by a group called Antifascist Policemen, said Janaina Matos, a police officer who believes in new public policies to fight crime.

S11 Today, the greatest enemy of indigenous people in Brazil is Bolsonaro, said Papion Santos, an indigenous activist.
S12 The candidate's distaste for indigenous population is well-known, and he stated during the campaign that he would stop the demarcation of indigenous lands completely and his government would not surrender one centimeter to indigenous people in Brazil.

S13 Defending indigenous lands is defending the planet, Santos told Xinhua, hoping Brazil's new president will listen to the demands of indigenous people and other vulnerable groups.

S14 Bolsonaro, who has some 25 to 30 percent of voting intentions according to the latest polls, is widely considered to be sexist, racist, homophobic and even fascist.

S15 He became widely popular in recent years, claiming to be an honest politician concerned about public security and traditional values.
S16 That stance has helped him with right-wing voters; he is popular among the rich and has a strong advantage in the southeast and south regions.

S17 However, repeated statements against gender equality and open hostility toward minorities in general increased his rejection rate significantly in recent months.
S18 According to the latest Datafolha poll, 52 percent of Brazilian women and 54 percent of black citizens would not vote for Bolsonaro under any circumstances.
S19 In the poorer northeastern region, Bolsonaro's rejection hits 61 percent.

S20 A week before the election, massive protests against the candidate are likely to dominate the news in the next few days.
S21 Bolsonaro left the hospital earlier on Saturday - he was stabbed by an apparent lone wolf on Sept. 6 - and will certainly be questioned by rivals and reporters over his difficulties in dealing with half of the electorate.

S22 In a TV interview aired on Friday, he minimized the importance of the groups that oppose him, although critics say rejecting a large bloc of voters may be unwise.

