Writers boycott literary fair after mayor censors Milly Lacombe's participation

Fourteen of the twenty writers invited to speak at the 11th Literary and Musical Festival (FLIM) announced their withdrawal from the event in protest after São José dos Campos Mayor Anderson Farias (PSD) canceled journalist Milly Lacombe's participation on Tuesday, the 16th, citing political and ideological reasons. In addition to the guests, the curatorial team also announced their withdrawal from the fair and condemned the incident.

On social media, Farias announced the cancellation of Lacombe's presentation, stating that public spaces "will not be used as a platform against the family and city values."

The cancellation occurred after the repercussion on social media of statements made by the journalist to the Louva a Deusa podcast, at the end of July this year, with criticism of the traditional model and family.

"This family thing is screwing us over. Family is a neurosis-producing nucleus. This traditional white, conservative, Brazilian family. Guys, this is horrible. It's the foundation of fascism," says Lacombe in a clipped excerpt shared by right-wing pages and influencers .

The journalist would participate in the opening panel of the 11th edition of FLIM on the evening of Friday the 19th, alongside writer Cuti and fellow writer and journalist Xico Sá with the theme “Others in Brazil yesterday and today”.

In a video posted on social media, Milly admits to having given the podcast interview, but that the viral comment was taken out of context. The writer also reports that she has since received threats from extremists and that participating in FLIM would be a risk to her own safety, but she sees the fact that she was effectively unable to participate in the event as a defeat.

See the list of writers who canceled their participation in the event: Table 1 – Others in Brazil yesterday and today

Xico Sá (cancelled)

Cuti (cancelled)

Milly Lacombe ( has been cancelled )

Table 2 – Between us

Joice Berth (has not yet responded to CartaCapital 's inquiry)

Luiz Ketu (cancelled)

Helena Silvestre (cancelled)

Table 3 – Other generations

Vitor Martins (has not yet responded to CartaCapital 's inquiry)

Jessica Anitelli (cancelled)

Maria Carolina Casati (cancelled)

Table 4 – Other stories

Julio Pimentel Pinto (cancelled)

Crithiano Aguiar (cancelled)

Tânia Rivitti (cancelled)

Table 5 – The other in us

Christian Dunker (cancelled)

Micheliny Verunschk (cancelled)

Maria Carolina Casati (cancelled)

Table 6 – Other Words

Noemi Jaffe (cancelled)

Calila das Mercês (has not yet responded to CartaCapital 's inquiry)

Bia Mantovani (cancelled)

Table 7 – Waxing

Marisa Orth (cancelled)

Adriana Ferreira Silva (cancelled)

In a statement, the curatorial team also announced their withdrawal from the fair and condemned Farias's decision. "It is with great indignation and outrage that we, the curators of the 11th FLIM, announce our withdrawal as curators of the festival. [...] Precisely in an edition in which we proposed to discuss otherness, coexistence with others, and the importance of collective action, an arbitrary decision makes our continuation of the project impossible. As cultural workers who value dialogue, critical thinking, and active listening, we feel disrespected by this decision and have collectively decided to end our participation in the festival," they emphasized.

Given the almost complete cancellation of the guests that make up the fair's program, CartaCapital asked the organization whether the event will be maintained and whether a new program will be announced, but has not yet received a response.