ANAPcD condemns use of disability as insult in Brazilian debate

The National Association for Support to People with Disabilities (ANAPcD) issued a public statement titled ‘Disability is not an insult’ following a presidential debate broadcast by TV Globo. The organization expressed concern over a comment made by Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who referred to his opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, using the phrase ‘gives with one hand and takes with nine fingers.’ This was a play on a popular idiom, referencing the president's loss of a finger in a workplace accident.

While the senator offered a public apology during the program, ANAPcD stated that the remark caused significant distress among people with disabilities. The association emphasized that physical characteristics or disabilities should never be used to ridicule, humiliate, or attack an individual. They noted that such language reinforces prejudice and shifts political discourse away from proposals and toward ableism, which is the discrimination against people with physical or cognitive impairments.