Rio de Janeiro: Brazil’s iconic flip-flop brand Havaianas has found itself at the centre of an unexpected political storm, after a new advertising campaign sparked backlash from the country’s right wing.
The controversy erupted after the brand released a video featuring acclaimed actress Fernanda Torres, who urges viewers to begin 2026 not ‘on the right foot’ but ‘on both feet.’ The line, intended as a playful slogan, was quickly seized upon by conservative figures who interpreted it as a political dig at the right.
Torres is widely known for her support of progressive causes and for starring in the film I’m Still Here, which won this year’s Oscar for best international feature. The film revisits Brazil’s years under military dictatorship, a period that many supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro often view with nostalgia. That background added fuel to the reaction, with critics accusing Havaianas of aligning itself with the political left.
Prominent voices on Brazil’s right soon called for a boycott. Eduardo Bolsonaro, one of the former president’s sons, posted a video online in which he discards a pair of Havaianas bearing the Brazilian flag, long one of the brand’s most recognisable symbols. Other conservative politicians and influencers echoed the boycott call, framing it as a response to what they see as corporate political activism.
The reaction has spread rapidly on social media, drawing comparisons to culture-war boycotts in the United States, where brands such as Bud Light and Kellogg’s have faced backlash from conservative consumers. Some right-wing commentators claimed the campaign had already dented Havaianas’ market value, though the company has not confirmed any financial impact.
On the other side of the political divide, the backlash has been met with ridicule and concern. Left-leaning politicians warned that calls for a boycott could threaten jobs, noting that Havaianas’ parent company, Alpargatas, employs around 10,000 people and operates factories in states such as Minas Gerais. Online, critics of the boycott mocked the move, with some jokingly offering to take unwanted sandals off conservatives’ hands.
Havaianas, one of the world’s best-selling sandal brands, sold more than 226 million pairs last year, most of them in Brazil. Neither the company nor Torres has issued a public response to the controversy so far.
The episode underscores how deeply polarised Brazil remains as it moves toward the 2026 elections. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said he plans to seek another term, while the far right continues to search for direction after Bolsonaro was jailed for attempting to overturn the results of the 2022 vote. In that charged atmosphere, even a pair of flip-flops has become a political statement.
