A ‘hot mayor’ has sparked outrage after posting a video of herself dancing in a bikini.
Patrícia Alencar originally posted the clip on a private Instagram page with around 185 selected followers.
But when the racy video was shared more widely, the 37-year-old mayor was slammed for acting “unprofessionally”.
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In response, Patrícia posted the dance video on her public Instagram Stories for her 1.4m followers.
She called the online backlash “sexist” and defended a woman’s right to be “a worker, a mother, and also express her beauty and fun side”.
Patrícia, who is the mayor of Marituba in northern Brazil, said: “The video was posted 15 days ago on a private Instagram page when I handpick my followers and show moments of Patrícia away from work, nothing involving my profession.
“I was betrayed by a person on that profile.
“We live in a sexist, prejudiced society that is still very much alive today.”
She said “women need to practice empathy because, unfortunately, a large number of the negative comments came from women”.
The mayor said: “We need to debate gender violence in politics.
“We suffer this violence constantly, with cases all over Brazil, and how much longer will we accept this as normal?
“It is time to debate, seek and resolve these issues of gender prejudice in politics.”
She added: “Unfortunately, a woman’s body bothers people more than corruption, inefficiency or neglect in politics.
“When a man is having fun or is relaxing, he is seen as authentic. But when it comes to a woman, she is judged, as if that nullifies her competence.”
One supporter said: “Beautiful woman are allowed to be happy too.”
Janaina added: “Someone in that position needs to understand that they cannot engage in this type of behaviour.”
Leonidas joked: “She has already won my vote even though I’m not from her city!”
Patrícia, who was born in the city of Bodocó, moved to Marituba 16 years ago, as reported by Need To Know.
The mother-of-three started working in the city’s central market selling buckets and wash basins.
She later studied medicine, ran a successful business, and eventually decided to enter into politics.
In 2020, she became the first woman to lead the City Hall of Marituba.
She was re-elected mayor in 2024 with 71.4% of the vote.
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