Nikolas Ferreira de Oliveira (born

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

, Brazil in 1996) is a Brazilian politician affiliated to the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

(PL). Currently serving as Member of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

, he was elected for a 4-year term in 2022, being the most voted Member of the Chamber of Deputies in the

2022 Brazilian general election General elections were held in Brazil on 2 October 2022 to elect the President of Brazil, president, Vice President of Brazil, vice president, the National Congress of Brazil, National Congress, the 2022 Brazilian gubernatorial elections, govern ...

, with almost 1,5 million votes, and the most voted in Minas Gerais history for that office. Formerly, he was elected Councillor of Belo Horizonte, in 2020, the second most voted candidate after

Duda Salabert Duda Salabert Rosa is a Brazilian politician, Environmentalism, environmentalist, and teacher. In 2020, she became the first transgender person to serve on the Municipal Chamber of Belo Horizonte, city council of Belo Horizonte after campaigning ...

. He describes himself as a "right-wing Christian, gun enthusiast, and family defender", and is considered one of the most influential politicians on

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

in Brazil. Ferreira has gained national notoriety due to the controversies he has been involved in, including defending negationist ideas, and discriminatory, spreading fake news, and supporting and encouraging coup demonstrations as well as the attacks on the headquarters of the Three Powers in 2023.

Personal Life

Nikolas was born on 30 May 1996 in the favela of Cabana Pai Tomaz, in the western region of

, the son of Maria Ruth Ferreira de Oliveira and

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

pastor Edésio de Oliveira. In January 2023, he announced his engagement to

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attracti ...

model Lívia Bergamim Orletti, and invited former President Jair Bolsonaro to the wedding ceremony. They married in April 2023, in Espírito Santo. He holds a bachelor's degree in Law, graduated from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais (PUC-MG). He is an evangelical Christian from the Grace and Peace Community denomination, stating that he suffered at the university when trying to assert himself as a conservative Christian.

Transphobic statements and conviction

Following his election as a councilor, Nikolas intentionally misgendered Duda Salabert, a transgender councilor in Belo Horizonte. Following this, Salabert filed a criminal complaint against him. There is no explicit criminal classification for transphobia and homophobia in Brazil, but the Supreme Federal Court decided in 2019 that they are crimes under the Law of Racism. In April 2023, Nikolas Ferreira was convicted, in first and second instance, and made to pay a compensation of R$ 80,000 for moral damages against Duda Salabert. On March 8, 2023,

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

, while serving as a federal congressman, Nikolas delivered a speech at the

podium with transphobic and anti-feminist statements. In addition to mocking trans women by wearing a blonde wig and asking to be called by the name "Nikole", he stated that "women are losing their space to men who feel like women". The President of the Chamber of Deputies,

Arthur Lira Arthur César Pereira de Lira (born 25 June 1969) is a Brazilian lawyer, farmer, entrepreneur and politician. A member of Progressistas (PP), he is a federal deputy for Alagoas, and was President of the Chamber of Deputies from February 2021 to ...

, wrote a public reprimand on social media after the statements, stating that the Chamber of Deputies is not a space for discriminatory speeches. Federal congresswoman Erika Hilton, who is a trans woman, presented a petition in favor of revoking Nikolas' mandate, which collected 150,000 signatures within 24 hours. Three criminal complaints were filed by civil society organizations and a group of federal congressmen to the

Supreme Federal Court The Federal Supreme Court (, , abbreviated STF) is the supreme court (court of last resort) of Brazil, serving primarily as the country's Constitutional Court. It is the highest court of law in Brazil for constitutional issues and its rulings ...

after the statements. On the other hand, Nikolas received support from other far-right politicians, such as

Eduardo Bolsonaro Eduardo Nantes Bolsonaro (born 10 July 1984) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and federal police officer. He is the third child of Jair Bolsonaro, the former president of Brazil. Since March 2022 he has been affiliated with the Liberal Part ...

, who classified his behavior as excellent, as well as

Valdemar Costa Neto Valdemar Costa Neto (born 11 August 1949) is a Brazilian politician. He is a congressman and president of the Liberal Party (PL), the party of the former President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is ...

, the president of Nikolas' party, who publicly defended him on social media. Nikolas' stance was associated with the growth of transphobic proposals in the federal, state, and municipal legislative bodies.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferreira, Nikolas 1996 births Living people Minas Gerais politicians Politicians from Belo Horizonte Conservatism in Brazil Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) from Minas Gerais Liberal Party (Brazil, 2006) politicians Brazilian Labour Renewal Party politicians Social Liberal Party (Brazil) politicians Far-right politics in Brazil Brazilian municipal councillors Brazilian evangelicals Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais alumni Anti-transgender activists Anti-LGBTQ Christian activists