Wrong R-Day chief guest?

On any other day the Brazilian President would be very welcome. On Republic Day, however, I would have preferred a person I can look up to

What is the difference between inviting a head of government on a state visit and inviting him or her as chief guest on Republic Day? I would say the first is an established practice for furthering diplomatic and political relations with key governments and countries. That’s why Burmese military dictators, African tyrants and Islamic potentates are regularly welcomed. It’s their country we’re courting; their personality or character is of little concern.

The second invitation is very different. That’s because Republic Day has special significance. It’s an occasion when we re-affirm our commitment to the Constitution and the democracy it guarantees. And what makes our Constitution truly meaningful is its vision of liberty and rights.

So the chief guest on Republic Day should reflect the values and ideals our country upholds. That’s why Nelson Mandela, in 1995, was the best possible choice. In contrast, is Jair Bolsonaro, the Brazilian President, the wrong one?

There’s no doubt Mr Bolsonaro is a controversial personality, particularly in his own country. But are you aware why? If not, let me explain. It could determine his suitability as chief guest on January 26.

First, he doesn’t consider women the equal of men and has often spoken derisively of them. In a 2015 interview, he said men and women should not receive equal salaries. In a 2017 speech, he said of his five children the first four were male and the fifth, a daughter, was born out of “a moment of weakness”.

These, I accept, are flippant and silly remarks and not really incriminating. But what he said of Maria do Rosario, a former human rights minister, is very different. In a 2015 interview, where he claimed she had called him a rapist 12 years earlier, he said she’s “not worth raping; she is very ugly”. Then he added he wouldn’t rape her because she doesn’t “deserve it”.

These comments were widely condemned leading to a federal court conviction in September 2015. In June 2016, the Federal Supreme Court opened criminal cases against him. It ruled he had potentially incited rape for which he could face six months jail and a fine. In August 2017, an appeal court upheld the lower court’s conviction. It was only when he became president, earlier this year, that the lawsuit was dismissed because he had acquired immunity from prosecution.

If anything, Mr Bolsonaro’s views on homosexuality are more disturbing. He told Playboy in a June 2011 interview, “I would be incapable of loving a gay son”. In fact, he went on to say he would prefer such a son “die in an accident”. A month later he told the magazine Época if such views “make me prejudiced, then I’m prejudiced and very proud of it”. In 2013 he said to Stephen Fry in a BBC interview “no father is ever proud of having a gay son” and “we Brazilians do not like homosexuals”.

In November 2017, the Court of Justice for the State of Rio de Janeiro convicted and fined Mr Bolsonaro for hate speech in a 2011 television programme where he said “there is no risk” of his family producing homosexual children because his children had received a “good education”. At the time Judge Teixeira said: “You cannot deliberately attack and humiliate, ignoring the principles of equality, just because you invoke freedom of expression”.

Now it’s true that after launching his presidential campaign Mr Bolsonaro has moderated his views. Today he claims he has nothing against gays. In fact, after his election he told Jornal Nacional that “aggression against a fellow man has to be punished in the way of law”. But does that wipe out — leave aside forgive — his earlier views? Or is electoral expediency the reason why he’s singing a different tune?

I don’t know and I’m not sure anyone else does either. Equally, I don’t want to cast the first stone. None of us has a right to do so. But does Mr Bolsonaro as chief guest add to our veneration of the Constitution? Or does it suggest we’re forgetting our values as Krishnan Srinivasan, a former foreign secretary and author of Values in Foreign Policy, believes?

On any other day Mr Bolsonaro would be very welcome. On Republic Day, however, I would have preferred a person I can look up to.