Share
Photo: (Photo : Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
A politician from Brazil has drawn backlash and was rebuked on Twitter for his child labor suggestions after saying that 13-year-old kids can work if they can win Olympic medals.
Lawmaker Sostenes Cavalcante, 46, from Rio de Janeiro, posted a message of congratulations for Brazilian Rayssa Leal, 13, after she won a silver medal during the women s street skateboarding competition. Japanese skateboarder Momiji Nishiya, who is also 13 years old, clinched the gold medal. Both have made history as the youngest medalists in the Tokyo Olympics.
But in his message, Cavalcante implied in Portuguese that it might be time to revise the Statute of Children and Adolescents in his country. In Brazil, the laws do not allow kids below 13 years old to work, and 14-year-old kids may only serve as apprentices and shouldn t be given hazardous jobs.