A prominent gay congressman in Brazil has announced he is leaving his job and has fled the country because of increased death threats made against him.

Key points: Jean Wyllys is an outspoken critic of Brazil's President who is known for making homophobic comments

Jean Wyllys is an outspoken critic of Brazil's President who is known for making homophobic comments Violence against LGBTQI people has increased since Mr Bolsonaro's election, Mr Wyllys says

Violence against LGBTQI people has increased since Mr Bolsonaro's election, Mr Wyllys says Mr Wyllys will be replaced by David Miranda, another openly gay, outspoken Bolsonaro critic

Jean Wyllys, the nation's first openly gay congressman, told the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper he was going to work in academia and had no plans to return home.

"Preserving a life under threat is also a strategy to fight for better days," Mr Wyllys wrote on Twitter with a link to the article.

"We have done much for the common good. And we will do much more when the new era arrives, and it doesn't matter that we do it by other means!

"Thank you to all of you with all my heart."

Mr Wyllys, who was elected to a third term in Parliament last October, had received numerous death threats in the past, but according to the report in Folha, they intensified significantly since the killing last March of Mr Wyllys's close friend Marielle Franco, a Rio de Janeiro councilwoman.

A spokesperson for Mr Wyllys told Reuters the congressman would not give interviews for safety reasons, and would not reveal his current location.

The news provoked dismay among Brazilian LGBTQI rights activists, many of whom saw Mr Wyllys as a leader in the fight for gay rights, particularly under President Jair Bolsonaro, who has become well known for his homophobic comments.

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"I understand his decision, but I am very sorry that we are going through this situation," Luis Arruda, a prominent LGBTQI activist said.

"It's regrettable that an elected parliamentarian felt so pressured, and so emotionally hurt, that he had to leave his country. It's really sad."

Violence increased after President's election: Wyllys

Mr Wyllys was an outspoken critic of the President prior to Mr Bolsonaro's election win last year, and had clashed with him numerous times in Parliament.

The most notable incident occurred during the heated impeachment hearings of former president Dilma Rousseff in 2016, when Mr Wyllys spat on then-congressman Mr Bolsonaro.

Following Mr Bolsonaro's presidential victory in October, Mr Wyllys said the rate of violence in Brazil, particularly against LGBTQI people, had increased significantly, to the point where he felt compelled to leave the country.

"It was not Bolsonaro's election itself. It was the level of violence that has increased since he was elected," Mr Wyllys told Folha.

Mr Wyllys is set to be replaced in Parliament by David Miranda, another openly gay politician who is currently serving as a member of the Rio de Janeiro city council and belongs to Mr Wyllys's Socialism and Liberty Party.

Mr Miranda, another outspoken critic of Mr Bolsonaro, has promised to defend LGBTQI rights in Brazil under the current administration.

"The LGBT community is always struggling — in every country in this world," he said.

"With this Government it's not going to be any different. We're going to have to learn to hold the rights we were able to obtain over the years.

"But at the same time, we have to struggle to sustain our survival."

Reuters