Brazilian President to Visit Dallas Business Leaders, Despite Criticism From Politicians, LGBTQ Activists

The World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth has not been deterred by activists’ and local leaders’ calls to disinvite Brazil’s controversial president Jair Bolsonaro from a speaking event Thursday.Bolsonaro will be accompanied by a cadre of Brazilian politicians and will meet with business executives from across Texas, the U.S. and Brazil, said Jim Falk, the council branch’s president and CEO.Bolsonaro, who started serving his first four-year term this year, is a far-right-wing firebrand who came to power amid fears of rising crime and frustration about widespread corruption. While on the campaign trail, Bolsonaro pledged to militarize the police and give officers expanded freedom to use deadly force — saying a “good criminal is a dead criminal.”Bolsonaro has drawn fire from environmental, human-rights and LGBTQ activists for such stances and other statements. The Brazilian president once said he’d rather have a dead son than a gay son, and his administration shut down a section of Brazil’s education ministry devoted to diversity and human rights. Environmentalists worry about his administration stripping away many protections meant to prevent deforestation and rampant resource development in the Amazon forest.  Continue reading...