Jews advocate for Nikolas Ferreira's removal from the Education Committee (video)
"There is no place for Nazi party and Holocaust denial in Brazil!", the organization stated, referring to controversial positions held by the Bolsonaro supporter.
247 - The Jewish Left Articulation stated this Thursday (7) that it demands the removal of Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) from the Education Committee of the Chamber of Deputies. "There is no place for Nazi party and Holocaust denial in Brazil!", wrote the entity on the social network X.
"Nikolas Ferreira defended the 'right to deny the Holocaust and found Nazi parties.' Citing 'freedom of expression,' the extremist, who has just been elected president of the Education Commission, stated on the Irmãos Dias podcast that 'it's better not to prohibit these 'opinions,'" the Jewish organization added. >>> Elected to the Education Committee, Nikolas has previously defended 'the right to deny the Holocaust and found Nazi parties' (video)
The PL-MG congressman received 22 votes out of a total of 37 – there were 15 blank votes. The occupants of the remaining positions (1st, 2nd and 3rd vice-presidencies) will be defined next week.
During the voting process, several deputies expressed their opinions on Ferreira's nomination to chair the Education Committee.
Congresswoman Sâmia Bomfim (Psol-SP) raised a point of order to challenge the congressman's nomination. She alleges that he does not have an unimpeachable record and is not worthy of the mandate.
“He is a defendant in the Court of Justice of Minas Gerais because of a video he recorded of a 14-year-old student using the bathroom,” the congresswoman recalled. “And he was also sentenced in the second instance to pay R$ 30 to congresswoman Duda Salabert, because he was also transphobic, saying that the congresswoman was a man,” she added.
Congresswoman Fernanda Melchionna (Psol-RS) reinforced her colleague's arguments. "It's unacceptable that the Education Committee, which deals with one of the House's most important issues, should be chaired by someone already convicted in first and second instances for transphobia," she protested.
Controversies
The Bolsonaro-supporting congressman has been involved in controversies in recent years. He was one of the PL congressmen who had his social media accounts suspended for trying to downplay the seriousness of the coup attempts of January 8, 2023.
Nikolas participated in far-right attacks against YouTuber Felipe Neto after the digital influencer declared his support for Lula (PT) in the elections. The exchange of barbs earned the congressman the nickname "genocidal pacifier," which became well-known on social media.
The congressman was also accused of racial slurs against fellow congresswoman Duda Salabert (PDT-MG). The Court of Justice of Minas Gerais (TJMG) accepted a request from the Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the case and ordered the 5th Criminal Court of Belo Horizonte to analyze the congresswoman's 2020 criminal complaint. The congressman used a masculine pronoun to refer to Duda, who is a transgender woman. "He is a man. That's what's on his birth certificate, regardless of what he thinks he is," Nikolas said at the time.
Accused of transphobia, Nikolas released a recording in 2022 showing a 14-year-old transgender girl using the girls' restroom at a private school. The then-city councilor of Belo Horizonte called for a boycott of the school for allowing the student in question to use the same restroom as cisgender students. The Public Prosecutor's Office of the State of Minas Gerais (MPMG) opened an investigation into the incident.
Another accusation against Nikolas is that of fatphobia. The congressman shared a photo of influencer Thais Carla dressed as Globeleza on social media and commented: "They took away the beauty and all that's left is the Globe."
* With information released by Agência Câmara.