Do we like them?

Do we like Gilberto Gil?

Our score: 8 out of 10. A long, decent record on the right side, but the evidence on LGBTQ+ and climate positions was thinner than we'd like.

Gil was born in Salvador, Bahia, in 1942 and became one of the founders of Tropicália in the 1960s alongside Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa and Os Mutantes. Their mash-up of samba, bossa nova, rock and Afro-Brazilian rhythms rattled the military dictatorship. It ended with Gil imprisoned and then exiled in London, and he came home in 1972.

Then came the plot twist: in 2003 President Lula made him Minister of Culture, a job he held until 2008. Critics at the time said he had no administrative experience, and one writer wanted someone more like a traditional scholar. Plenty of others backed him, and Brasil de Fato says many now rank him among Brazil's best culture ministers, citing the Pontos de Cultura program that backed local and diverse cultural projects.

As for scandal, there isn't a Gil one that we could find. The court cases that turned up have him as the one wronged. In 2018 a judge ordered the commentator Alexandre Frota to pay him R$20,000 over a post accusing Gil of misusing Rouanet Law culture-funding money, which the judge found had no evidence behind it.

On the harm check, we found no slur, conspiracy theory or campaign against any group in his own words or acts. His ministry work promoted artistic, cultural and ethnic diversity. He was also announced on the lineup for the 2025 Global Citizen Festival: Amazônia in Belém, tied to a campaign to protect the Amazon. The honest gap is that we didn't find a clear, dated statement from him on trans rights or climate policy to quote, so the pass rests on a clean record rather than loud advocacy.

Lately he has been winding down. In 2025 he announced his farewell tour, Tempo Rei, telling The New York Times, as reported by Latin Times, that the decision was about slowing down rather than goodbye. He said he would keep his guitar and might return to composing.

The real stuff is a career, not a trophy cabinet. He has made more than 50 albums, won Grammys and Latin Grammys, and in 2022 was inducted into the Brazilian Academy of Letters. In his induction speech he spoke of betting on hope over darkness. For a bloke who was locked up and shipped out for his art, that checks out.