Hipster cop in politician’s arrest fascinates Brazilians
RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilians watching footage of the arrest on Wednesday of once powerful lawmaker Eduardo Cunha had a burning question: who was that plainclothes cop with the man bun?
Cunha, 58, was photographed being led to an airplane in the capital, Brasilia, under the eye of several guards. One of his minders was a man in hipster regalia — blue jeans, T-shirt, carefully coiffed beard and long hair done up in a tight bun.
Never mind the corruption charges against Cunha or the political fallout. The handsome hipster was the big news for some.
“The new Internet mystery is to discover who the hipster policeman next to Cunha is,” said one tweet.
O Globo newspaper’s website quickly discovered the answer: the hunky hipster is Lucas Valenca and he’s an “Instagram muse”.
Instagram posts published by Globo show the policeman on the beach, nuzzling up with dogs, or getting that now famous beard tended to by a barber.
For Folha newspaper, the fascination over the no-longer-undercover cop could provide Brazilians with a badly needed replacement for their last anti-corruption symbol.
A policeman of Japanese origin pictured escorting several corruption suspects became a full-blown folk hero, epitomising the fight against the crooked and powerful.
The likeness of “the Japanese”, as he was universally known, appeared on T-shirts, carnival masks and banners at anti-corruption demonstrations. Sadly, the hero himself was arrested in June on smuggling charges. AFP