Make Brazil “Swiftie” again

In Brazil, people have flooded the streets of major cities for any number of causes.

The country has borne witness to many large rallies and protests — most recently the infamous January 8 attacks on the nation’s capital Brasília by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, an event which had echoes of the U.S. Capitol riots in Washington back in 2021. 

This month, however, less aggressive groups swarmed the streets pushing for something entirely different. This strange new crowd that gathered with flags and posters was brought together in the hopes of… individually acquiring tickets for Taylor Swift’s Latin American Eras Tour, which the pop star publicly added to her world tour in early June.

These harmless self-declared “swifties” cannot of course be compared with the coup-mongering Bolsonaristas. Even so, the issue became massively discussed, especially on social media, as die-hard fans spent days in line and even camped out in tents (at least not in front of military quarters this time…), braving cold temperatures in the hopes of acquiring a ticket to see their idol. 

For those who weren’t aware of what was going on, they might have confused the crowds with a 2022 pro-Bolsonaro demonstration. 

Though most hopeful swifties failed in their efforts, a lucky few did acquire spots for Taylor’s November concerts. Others, meanwhile, complained that most tickets disappeared in the hands of scalpers. There were even records of physical fights between the fans and those ticket touts. 

On the politics side of things, Jair Bolsonaro was defeated and succeeded by President Lula in 2023. But since Taylor Swift is not handing over any presidential sash in the foreseeable future, she could return to Brazil soon enough to Make Brazil Swiftie Again. There is a large crowd of people who agree.

Go deeper: What happened with the sales for Taylor Swift’s shows in Brazil?

• #bolsonaro
• #january8