Thousands brave the rain for Rio de Janeiro’s LGBT parade

RIO DE JANEIRO – Thousands of people on Sunday gathered in Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana district for the LGBT pride parade, many of them denouncing the administration of President Jair Bolsonaro.

Several large moving stages dotted Atlântica avenue along Copacabana’s iconic beach, undeterred by the rain.

The parade’s theme this year is democracy, freedom and human rights in memory of the Stonewall Riots in New York City 50 years ago, a rebellion that helped propel LGBTQ rights movement.

But many protesters also took aim at Bolsonaro and Marcelo Crivella, Rio’s conservative mayor.

Earlier this month, a Brazilian Supreme Federal Court justice blocked Crivella’s efforts to have a book fair remove a comic book showing two men kissing.

Crivella, a former evangelical pastor, argued he was acting to protect children against “sexual content.”