“I am gay. And I am proud of that,” said Governor Eduardo Leite of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil’s southernmost state. “I have nothing to hide. I’m proud to talk about my sexual orientation and who I am — even though that should be a non-issue in our country,” he said, breaking a barrier no other acting governor has ever done.
Mr. Leite, 36, is the youngest governor in office in Brazil — and he plans to run for the presidential nomination of his center-right Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB). After his coming out, he said he wanted to...