Gustavo Gayer Machado de Araújo (April 13, 1981) is a Brazilian businessman, politician, youtuber and internet celebrity.[1][2][3] He became better known in 2020 due to the rise of conservatism and the far-right on social media, aligning himself with then-president Jair Bolsonaro.[4][5] He is considered one of the most controversial politicians in Goiás state and one of the main Bolsonaro supporters in the state. He was named by the COVID-19 CPI as one of the YouTubers who profited most from spreading fake news about Covid-19.[6] In 2022, he was elected federal deputy for Goiás with the second highest vote in the state.[7]
Congressman Gustavo Gayer is facing calls for his impeachment and possible imprisonment due to controversial statements associating the existence of dictatorships on the African continent with the supposed “lack of cognitive capacity” of the population.[8] In a podcast, Gayer compared the IQ in Africa to that of monkeys, claiming that Brazil is following the same path.[9] In addition, he is accused of insulting President Lula and of racism by linking Minister Silvio Almeida 's African descent to a supposed intellectual inferiority, resulting in accusations that seek to hold him responsible for disseminating racist and segregationist ideas.[10][11]
Biography
editEarly years
editGayer was born on April 13, 1981, in Goiânia, the capital of the state of Góias.[2] He is the son of delegate, councilor of Goiania and state deputy, Maria da Conceição Gayer, who died in December 2006, who campaigned against the military dictatorship in the early 1980's.[12][13][14] His great-grandfather, Plínio Gayer, was a federal deputy for Goiás in the 1950s and was member of Juscelino Kubitschek party, Social Democratic Party (PSD).[13][15][16] He is the brother-in-law of Luana Ribeiro, a state deputy from Tocantins, who was a member of the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB).[15][17] In an interview with the Goiás newspaper Diário do Estado in October 2020, she said that her father abandoned her mother when she was still pregnant, and she was raised by an LGBTQ brother who was ten years older.[18]
Career
editHe is the owner of a language school with a focus on english, and works as a teacher at the school, despite not having higher education, as well as being a digital activist and political commentator.[19][20] He is a digital activist and political commentator.[15][21]
He became known for his strong engagement with far-right social networks.[22] He has a YouTube channel where he claims to “spread the truth and prevent more young people from falling into the ideological dungeon of the left”. As of September 2020, his channel had 290 000 subscribers and videos with 1 million views.[23]
In July 2021 his channel had 419 000 subscribers, having already reached 452 000 subscribers in August of the same year, by which time he was already well identified as a disseminator of fake news.[24][25] In January 2025, the channel had 1 840 000 subscribers and more than 115 million views.[26] He is a regular commentator on the online political analysis program Hora do Strike, broadcast by the Paraná newspaper Gazeta do Povo.[27]
Political
editGayer says he became interested in politics in 2015, “outraged at the way Brazil was going”. He began to take part in the demonstrations for Dilma Rousseff's impeachment, then for Operation Car Wash, and all the demonstrations in support of Bolsonaro.[23]
He entered politics in 2020, building his space in the political field as one of Bolsonaro's biggest supporters.[28][29] He joined Christian Democracy (DC), to run for mayor of Goiania in 2020.[30] In September 2020, his candidacy was made official by the party to run for mayor.[21] According to Gayer, his motivation for entering politics was dissatisfaction at seeing “opportunists”, as he described the then São Paulo senator Major Olímpio and the São Paulo federal deputies Alexandre Frota and Joice Hasselmann, seeking to attract votes from Bolsonaro voters.[31]
On October 21, 2020, his candidacy was rejected by electoral judge Wilson da Silva Dias, due to the absence of first-degree criminal certificates from the State and Federal Courts for the deputy mayor, Alexandre Magalhães, and therefore not being able to register.
References
edit- ^ "Gustavo Gayer". Diário do Rio. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
- ^ a b "Eleições 2022: Gustavo Gayer - PL | Ficha do candidato | Folha". Folha de S.Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on January 6, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ "Gustavo Gayer terá encontro com o presidente Jair Bolsonaro em Goiânia". Diário de Goiás (in Brazilian Portuguese). August 27, 2021. Archived from the original on November 30, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ Petrarca, Fernanda Rios; Ferreira de Oliveira, Wilson José (2022-03-25). "Jalecos Brancos e o "Dragão Covidiano": as alianças em torno do tratamento precoce". Ciências Sociais Unisinos. 57 (3): 324–336. doi:10.4013/csu.2021.57.3.06. ISSN 2177-6229. Archived from the original on June 24, 2023.
- ^ Elliott, Vittoria. "Elon Musk Is Platforming Far-Right Activists in Brazil, Defying Court Order". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on December 12, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ Silva, José (January 25, 2022). "Carla Zambelli usa verba pública em viagem, é pega na mentira e se irrita | Maquiavel". Veja (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ "Goiás: Gustavo Gayer (PL) é eleito deputado federal; veja votos". Universo Online (in Brazilian Portuguese). October 2, 2022. Archived from the original on October 23, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ Marzullo, Luísa (February 28, 2024). "STF intima Gustavo Gayer por racismo contra Silvio Almeida e injúria em fala sobre Lula". O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on September 6, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ "Investigado, Gayer nega racismo e culpa imprensa: 'Interpretação desonesta'". Universo Online (in Brazilian Portuguese). July 5, 2023. Archived from the original on July 18, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ Sousa, Gabriel (June 28, 2023). "Deputado diz que africanos e brasileiros são burros, e deve ser levado ao Conselho de Ética". Estadão (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on March 17, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ Mendes, Lucas (November 20, 2023). "PGR denuncia deputado Gustavo Gayer por racismo contra Silvio Almeida e injúria contra Lula". CNN Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on June 13, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ Carvalho, Giselle Vanessa (March 8, 2022). "Apesar da fama de outsider, Gustavo Gayer tem linhagem política e à esquerda". Jornal Opção (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on April 20, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ a b "Um antipolítico parente de políticos: entenda quem é Gustavo Gayer". Congresso em Foco (in Brazilian Portuguese). July 22, 2023. Archived from the original on May 27, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ Filho, João (July 1, 2023). "Fala de Gustavo Gayer faria Hitler rir no inferno". Intercept Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on May 24, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ a b c Viana, Luana (October 25, 2024). "Saiba quem é Gustavo Gayer, deputado goiano alvo de operação da PF". Metrópoles (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on October 27, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ Sampaio, Cristiane (October 25, 2024). "Saiba quem é Gustavo Gayer, deputado federal alvo de operação da PF nesta sexta-feira (25)". Brasil de Fato (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on January 6, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ "Luana Ribeiro". Communist Party of Brazil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on May 22, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ "Vídeo: Gustavo Gayer do DC, se eleito pretende apoiar homossexuais na prefeitura de Goiânia". Diário do Estado. October 1, 2020. Archived from the original on February 28, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- ^ "Gustavo Gayer". Portal Política (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on January 6, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ "GUSTAVO GAYER MACHADO DE ARAUJO". Superior Electoral Court. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ a b Oliveira, Rafael (September 15, 2020). "Partido Democracia Cristã oficializa o empresário Gustavo Gayer como candidato à Prefeitura de Goiânia". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ Dias, Elder (July 12, 2024). "Gustavo Gayer é o 2º entre youtubers que lucraram com fake news sobre pandemia, revela Google". Jornal Opção (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ a b "Gustavo Gayer (DC), a novidade para a eleição goianiense". Hora Extra. September 4, 2020. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
- ^ "Vídeo de Gustavo Gayer engana ao mostrar parcial de enquete com intenção de voto para presidente". Jornal do Tocantins (in Brazilian Portuguese). July 7, 2021. Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ Simionato, Letícia (August 6, 2021). "Voto impresso, a roupa nova da desinformação". revista piauí - _pra quem tem um clique a mais. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ "Gustavo Gayer Deputado Federal's YouTube Stats". Social Blade Stats. Archived from the original on January 6, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ "Terceira temporada do Hora do Strike estreia nesta segunda-feira na Gazeta do Povo". Gazeta do Povo (in Brazilian Portuguese). February 7, 2022. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ Sampaio, Cristiane (September 30, 2020). "Goiânia: em disputa fragmentada, 16 candidatos buscam cargo de prefeito na capital". Brasil de Fato (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on August 8, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ Hirose, Rodrigo (March 8, 2020). "Quem é e o que pensa a direita em Goiás". Jornal Opção (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ "Eleições 2020: conheça os candidatos à prefeitura de Goiânia". Agência Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). November 11, 2020. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
- ^ Humberto, Thiago (September 22, 2020). "Goiânia: "Pessoas oportunistas estavam tentando ganhar votos de bolsonaristas", diz Gayer". Diário de Goiás (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2025.