Prosecutor Calls on Supreme Court to Open Homophobia Inquiry Against Education Minister

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Deputy Prosecutor General Humberto Jacques de Medeiros requested the opening of an inquiry against the Minister of Education, Milton Ribeiro, for homophobia, after statements he made in an interview with Estadão, in which he exonerates the portfolio of liability for the return to school in the country and ascribes homosexuality of youths to “dysfunctional families”.

In the interview, the Minister stated that he would revise the basic education curriculum and promote changes in Sex Education. According to him, the subject is often used to encourage gender discussions. “And it is not normal. The option one has as an adult to be homosexual, is something I respect, but I don’t agree with,” he said, adding he has “certain reservations” about the presence of transgender teachers in the classrooms.

During the week, legislators and experts also reacted to Ribeiro’s interview. Senator Fabiano Contarato (Rede-ES) said he would denounce the Minister to the Supreme Court (STF) so that he could be investigated for homophobia. Deputy David Miranda (PSOL-RJ) also intended to trigger the Federal Prosecutor’s Office on the same grounds.

“The Minister of Education evidences the whole burden of prejudice and backwardness of the Bolsonaro government. Above all the Minister of such a strategic portfolio for a nation with the pretension of sovereignty. This government has medieval elements. I have denounced the Minister at the Prosecutor’s Office, he must answer for a crime of homophobia,” Miranda said.

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