RIO DE JANEIRO:
Outstanding figures on Brazil’s proper wing are calling for a boycott of Havaianas, the long-lasting Brazilian flip-flop sandals, over an advert seen as taking sides forward of subsequent 12 months’s presidential elections.
In a video posted on the model’s social media accounts, actress Fernanda Torres urges the general public “to not begin 2026 on the suitable foot,” however “on each ft.”
Torres, a supporter of the Brazilian left, was the lead actress within the Brazilian movie “Ainda Estou Aqui” (“I am Nonetheless Right here”), which received the Oscar for Greatest International Language Movie this 12 months.
The commercial has sparked outrage in conservative circles.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, one of many sons of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro — who’s serving a 27-year jail sentence for an tried coup after shedding the final election — took to Instagram on Sunday to register his disgust.
In a video, he throws a pair of the flip-flops, recognizable from their straps adorned with the Brazilian flag, into the trash.
“Havaianas was a nationwide image. I’ve seen many foreigners carrying this Brazilian flag on their ft… however I am sorry, I will throw these flip-flops within the trash,” says the US-based, former Brazilian lawmaker.
Conservative congressman Rodrigo Valadares posted on X: “Havaianas has chosen its aspect. The RIGHT has opted for a boycott.”
“My ft are burning on the asphalt, however Havaianas, by no means once more,” right-wing influencer Thiago Asmar posted Monday on Instagram, the place he has greater than two million followers.
Havaianas are among the many world’s best-selling sandals. The Alpargatas group, which owns the model, employs 10,000 individuals and offered 226.6 million pairs of flip-flops in 2024, principally in Brazil, in response to its LinkedIn web page.
The corporate has not responded to AFP requests for remark.
Left-wing congresswoman Duda Salabert denounced the reactions from the suitable as “idiotic assaults,” saying requires a boycott threatens jobs in Minas Gerais, the southeastern state she represents, the place one of many model’s factories is situated.
Torres received the Golden Globe for Greatest Actress for “I am Nonetheless Right here,” which recounts the years of the army dictatorship in Brazil, a interval usually evoked with nostalgia by Bolsonaro’s supporters.
South America’s largest nation is about to carry basic elections in October 2026. Leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in 2022, has mentioned he plans to run for a fourth time period.
