With a massive ballot box spanning Paulista Avenue and plenty of fan-waving, the São Paulo LGBT+ Pride Parade drew a huge crowd this Sunday (Jun. 7). Celebrating its 30th anniversary, this year's event adopted the theme “30 years of the São Paulo Pride Parade: The streets call, the ballot box confirms,” sparking debate about the importance of voting and democratic participation in defending the rights of the LGBT+ community.

In October this year, Brazil will hold elections for president, governors, senators, and federal and state representatives.

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The first edition of the São Paulo LGBT+ Pride Parade took place in 1996 at Roosevelt Square. It was not until the following year that the event moved to Paulista Avenue, where it has since become firmly established. Since then, the parade has consistently brought discussions of issues fundamental to the LGBT+ movement into the public sphere, including the recognition of civil unions, the right to gender identity, adoption by same-sex couples, and the criminalization of LGBTphobia, among others. Last year, for example, the event focused on the issue of aging.

“Today marks a milestone for us because all the rights the LGBT+ community enjoys originated here on Paulista Avenue,” said Matheus Emílio Pereira da Silva, director of the São Paulo LGBT Pride Parade Association (APOLGBT-SP).

“In 2005, we addressed the right to civil unions, and a decade later, it was recognized by the Supreme Court. We also addressed the criminalization of LGBTphobia. In 2006, we brought this issue to the forefront, and later the court recognized it as well, equating LGBTphobia with the crime of racism. We have spoken about the rights of the trans community, the right to donate blood, and the right to adopt. All of these were issues that were first brought to the streets of Paulista Avenue before reaching the courts. This demonstrates the importance of the São Paulo Pride Parade over these three decades of struggle,” Silva emphasized.

Despite these achievements, the director of the São Paulo Pride Parade emphasized that there is still a long way to go.

“We need a commitment from our legislature to enshrine these rights in law - and not just through court rulings, as we have today,” he said.

That is why, this year, the Parade’s theme is the elections. “It’s important for us to talk about this to raise awareness among our population, especially LGBT+ people, so that they vote for and elect candidates committed to LGBT rights and to society as a whole - people who don’t legislate only for themselves, but for the people,” Silva stated.

Reduced sponsorship

Although slightly smaller this year due to declining sponsorship, the São Paulo Parade took to the streets with a reduced number of floats, which paraded down Paulista Avenue and Consolação Street before arriving at Republic Square.

According to event organizers, sponsorship revenue dropped by 60 percent this year, affecting not only the parade’s organization but also the social and cultural initiatives promoted by APOLGBT-SP. With fewer resources available, the number of floats fell to 14, down from 17 in 2025. However, the federal government took part in the parade.

“The Ministry of Human Rights has been a regular presence at the parade. The one in São Paulo is the largest in the world, so it’s a joy for us to be here. And this year, the Ministry is running a campaign, ‘Brazil Is of All Colors: For All People,’ and it is important for us to remind and emphasize to the Brazilian public the need to guarantee the rights of the LGBT community,” said Human Rights Minister Janine Mello during an interview with Agência Brasil at the event.

“We have a range of policies targeting different aspects of the LGBTQIA+ community. These range from initiatives focused on empowerment and workplace inclusion to support measures for times of vulnerability. We recently submitted a bill to Congress on the National Policy on LGBT Rights, which will address various issues, including combating violence against LGBTQIA+ people,” the minister added.

The Brazilian Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship on Thursday (Jun. 4) launched a campaign entitled O Brasil é de Todas as Cores: Para Todas as Pessoas (“Brazil comes in every color – it’s for everyone”).

The initiative aims to provide transparency and present the results of the efforts the government has been taking to guarantee the rights of LGBTQIA+ Brazilians, in addition to expanding the reach of public policies for people in vulnerable situations.

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The launch took place during the 25th edition of the LGBT+ Diversity and Entrepreneurship Cultural Fair, an event promoted by the São Paulo LGBT Pride Parade Association.

According to the ministry, since 2023, more than BRL 61 million has been invested in initiatives aimed at promoting and defending the human rights of this population in Brazil. This investment has made it possible for over 330,000 people in socially vulnerable situations to receive assistance through the National Program for Strengthening LGBTQIA+ Shelter Homes.

In addition, the National Strategy for Decent Work, Education, and Income Generation for LGBTQIA+ People has enabled the training of more than 5,000 people through initiatives that promote economic autonomy, income generation, and expanded opportunities.

Symmy Larrat, national secretary for LGBTQIA+ rights, noted this was the largest budget in history.

“We’re out here face to face with people, showing them what we’ve managed to accomplish despite the blackout we faced [under the previous administration] and the dismantling we endured.”

The fair

The LGBT+ Diversity and Entrepreneurship Cultural Fair is a free festival celebrating culture, entrepreneurship, and civil rights, which brought together more than 180 artists and 100 exhibitors.

Heitor Werneck, the event’s artistic coordinator, explains that the fair was conceived to empower small businesses, generate commercial opportunities, and increase the visibility of LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs, thereby fostering income generation and the community’s economic development.

Companies as well as the city government, he argued, have been cutting budgets allocated to LGBT+ causes, which has created difficulties not only in maintaining events like the Diversity Fair and the São Paulo Pride Parade, but also in sustaining the social and cultural projects that run throughout the year.

“We put on a huge event and have to go hat in hand, both to city hall and to sponsors,” he said. “And that’s because 98 percent of São Paulo’s hotel capacity is booked. Just here at Pride, we directly employ 1,800 people.”

Pride

The São Paulo LGBT+ Pride Parade will take place next Sunday (7) on Paulista avenue.

This year, the event celebrates its 30th anniversary and is taking to the streets with the motto “The streets call, the ballot box confirms.” The goal is to encourage reflection on citizen rights, democracy, past achievements, and social participation.

“We know we need to be organized in the streets. It was this organized process that led to a victory – the creation of the National Secretariat for the Rights of LGBTQIA+ People. If I am secretary today, it is the result of this struggle, the result of this journey. And we cannot stop taking to the streets even as international hate speech has intensified against us. We remain steadfast in continuing to speak out. We will turn the tide,” Symmy Larrat declared.

In its 30th edition, the São Paulo LGBT+ Pride Parade is facing a number of challenges. Last week, the city council approved a bill that bans children and adolescents from attending public or private events that “allude to or promote LGBTQIA+ practices,” even when accompanied by parents or guardians.

The bill also prohibits the use and closure of public roads for such events and mandates that they take place only in indoor venues, under penalty of a fine. This includes the LGBT+ Pride Parade, considered one of the world’s largest diversity events and held on Paulista Avenue since 1997.

Legal experts interviewed by Agência Brasil have deemed this proposal unconstitutional. “I believe the bill is unconstitutional, since the Constitution does not permit any discrimination and establishes the principle that all are equal before the law,” said Ariel de Castro Alves, a lawyer and member of the Commission for the Defense of the Rights of Children and Adolescents of the Federal Council of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB).

“This is a huge smokescreen, because the councilman [who proposed the bill] knows it’s unconstitutional. In Amazonas [state], this bill was passed and the Supreme Court has already ruled that it’s unconstitutional, because no municipality or state can override federal law,” said Nelson Matias Pereira, president of the São Paulo LGBT Pride Parade Association.

This attempt is not new, Pereira pointed out. “They want us to go back into the closet. Ever since we’ve existed, over these 30 years, there’s always been an attempt to put us back in the closet,” he argued.

In the view of drag queen Tiffany, one of the event’s hosts, this bill is primarily the result of a conservative wave sweeping the country. “It’s been 30 years since the first parade, and we know this is nothing more than a wave of conservatism, of prejudice, of wanting to roll back the rights we’ve been fighting to defend for so many years.”

Sponsorship

In addition to the bill, the Pride Parade faces another major challenge this year – according to the organizers, the event has lost about 60 percent of its sponsors, resulting in a smaller parade than in previous years.

Pereira points out that putting the parade on the streets has never been easy. “We’ve held parades without any sponsorship at all.”

In his opinion, the problem affects not only the street event but also others that would need funding to continue, such as the Diversity Fair and social and cultural projects.  “Despite this, our parade is still going strong,” he stressed.

“We’ll have only two sponsors for the parade, but we’ve had six major companies in the past. I know it’s a difficult year – we’ll have the World Cup, and it’s a political year – but this decline has been looming for some time,” he stated.

The importance of voting

Despite so many challenges, this year’s LGBT+ Pride Parade is bringing a political theme to the streets. Scheduled for June 7, this year’s event features the theme “The streets call, the ballot box confirms,” broadening the debate on the importance of voting and political participation. “There is no pride without democracy,” Pereira declared.

“People still have an aversion to politics. Since 2010, every election year we’ve taken on the role of educating the public. That’s what it’s about. If people don’t understand that our lives are decided in the legislative chambers, do you think those straight, cis men are going to consider feminist issues, racial issues? They will not,” he added.

Tiffany, who is 41 years old, has participated in the event since she was 18, and notes that the parade is not just about fun, but about finding a way to engage in politics. “The parade is a moment where we celebrate, have fun, and also fight for our rights. After all, our motto has always been ‘the party is also a struggle.’ So we need to keep fighting and partying,” she argued.

“All these people out on the streets – if they’re committed to their vote and their role as citizens – will go to the polls and make a difference,” she said.

Other events

In addition to the parade on Paulista Avenue, the event organizers are also hosting the Brazilian Meeting of LGBT+ Parade Organizations – an initiative that will bring together more than 90 representatives from all regions of Brazil for discussions, workshops, working groups, and institutional collaborations aimed at strengthening the movement in the country.

This year, the goal is to draft and approve a National Open Letter containing proposals, guidelines, and strategic commitments to strengthen Brazilian LGBT+ parades.

Furthermore, the LGBT+ Diversity and Entrepreneurship Cultural Fair will take place on June 4. For the 25th edition of the fair, 60 tents representing creative communities will be set up, hosting 100 artists and 10 writers.

Among the fair’s highlights is an employment tent, which will offer job openings specifically for LGBT+ individuals. A booth from the São Paulo Municipal Health Department will also be set up to offer rapid HIV and syphilis testing, as well as distribute condoms, lubricant, and HIV self-tests. Participants will also have access to pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV (PrEP and PEP).

Representatives of ancestral territories launched the Alliance of Traditional Peoples and Communities: Guardians of the Atlantic Forest. The launch took place at the University of São Paulo Law School on National Atlantic Forest Day. The Atlantic forest is one of Brazil’s most threatened biomes.

Formed by representatives from indigenous and traditional peoples from across the country, the alliance was organized to represent and defend the Atlantic forest, as well as to fight for the territorial rights of these peoples and communities.

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“We are traditional peoples and communities, guardians of ancestral knowledge, which enables us to care for mother nature, her forests, rivers, lakes, and seas,” the alliance’s founding manifesto reads.

Ivanildes Kerexu, coordinator of the Guarani Yvyrupa Commission and a resident of the Rio Bonito Village in Ubatuba, São Paulo, said that the alliance is an initiative to unite peoples and to further protect this territory.

“We need to form this Atlantic forest alliance so that we can have the right to public policies and, of course, also for environmental preservation,” she said.

“What has preserved the Atlantic forest to this day has always been the traditional communities that live there and are resisting,” she added.

Federal Representative Sonia Guajajara, former Minister of Indigenous Peoples, who attended the launch ceremony, emphasized the role of the movement as a space for dialogue, reporting abuses, and building community.

“For us, it’s obvious – our daily struggle is not always understood by legal institutions. That is why these voices are needed every day, so that this message reaches everywhere, and is understood,” she declared.

In addition to the consequences of exploitation, mining, and deforestation, Guajajara argued, Brazil now faces an international threat linked to the exploitation of rare earths and critical minerals.

“If rare earths are exploited in the same way – without regard for rights, without safeguards, and without free, prior, and informed consultation – the consequences will be no different from what oil exploitation has meant for our peoples,” she went on to say.

For this reason, she noted, the creation of this coalition comes at a very opportune moment. “We are up against powerful structures – both economic and political – that have no desire whatsoever to understand what we do as a contribution to life on the planet. So, this forum of traditional communities in defense of the Atlantic forest is gaining strength at a key moment, a moment when more than half of the Atlantic forest has already been lost.”

Atlantic forest

Considered the common cradle of Brazilian history and biodiversity, the Atlantic forest is threatened by large-scale development projects and real estate speculation. Other factors that have also contributed to its destruction, according to members of the alliance, include exploitative tourism – particularly the construction of new resorts – the use of pesticides and the extraction of oil and fossil fuels.

Data on the biome reveal that only about 12.4 percent of its original vegetation remains today – vegetation that once covered 15 percent of Brazilian territory. Despite this, the forest still shelters over 20 thousand plant species and over 2 thousand vertebrate species, many of which exist nowhere else in the world.

The Atlantic forest is also vital to the economy and human life, as it provides water for more than 145 million Brazilians – that is, about 70 percent of Brazilians.