Brazilian lawmaker sparks backlash after calling to revise child labor laws, citing 13yo skateboarder’s Olympic silver
A Brazilian politician landed in hot water after calling to loosen the country’s child labor laws, pointing to the Olympic silver medal brought home by 13-year-old skateboarder Rayssa Leal. Critics roundly condemned the idea.
Sostenes Cavalcante, a Democratas Party deputy for Rio de Janeiro, took to Twitter on Monday to propose a revision to Brazil’s child labor statute – which bars anyone under the age of 14 from holding a job – suggesting Leal’s silver medal showed that younger kids are capable of being employed.
“Brazilian children aged 13 cannot work, but skater Rayssa Leal won the silver medal at the Olympics,” he said, adding “Hey! It's just a thought… Congratulations to our Olympic medalist!” while urging for a “revision of the Statute of Children and Adolescents now!”
In another tweet later on Monday, Cavalcante cited an excerpt of the labor law that sets 14 as the minimum working age, saying he would like to see that particular article changed.
The proposal did not go over well with many observers online, with Brazil-based journalist Glenn Greenwald noting Cavalcante’s tweet was flooded with criticism.
Brazilian Senator Paulo Rocha joined the detractors, calling the idea “absurd” while saying Cavalcante “took advantage of a 13-year-old athlete's victory to ask for a review of [the law] and defend CHILD LABOR.”
There is no comparison between child labor and the Rayssa Medal. Children must study, play, play sports. Working means not having time for any of this.
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, a Brazilian diplomat and longtime human rights activist, also panned the suggestion, sharing a photo of a smiling Leal alongside a young Brazilian girl washing a car’s windshield while asking Cavalcante to compare their situations.
“What distorted view of reality is it to think that a child playing sports is the same thing as a child working? Do you think both girls in the photo are playing the same 'role' in society? This false symmetry is absurd!” he said.
https://www.rt.com/sport/530311-brazil-olympics-child-labor/