“Don’t start 2026 off on the right foot.” With these words, actress Fernanda Torres sparked controversy. The iconic Havaianas is being boycotted by the right wing associated with Bolsonaro and has already lost 22.7 million euros in market value.
And the boycott is working: after the advertising campaign led by the actress Fernanda Torres — protagonist of the film I’m Still Here, which made history in the US and — the owner of the Havaianas brand, Alpargatas, lost around 22.7 million euros in market value in a single session on the Brazilian stock exchange. But what exactly led to this?
For many ears, the words of the actress with a Portuguese vein were nothing more than simple advice for the new year: instead of entering with one foot, enter “with both feet” in 2026. But the terms “right” and “left” became identity triggers and the message was understood by many others as a political provocation. Here are the words of the actress in the ad that sparked the controversy:
“I’m sorry, but I don’t want you to start 2026 on the right foot. It’s nothing against luck, but let’s face it: luck doesn’t depend on you, right? It depends on luck. What I want is for you to start the new year with both feet. Two feet in the door, two feet on the road, two feet in the jackfruit, both feet wherever you want! Go with everything! Body and soul, from head to toe.”
Public and political figures associated with the former president Jair Bolsonaro reacted early. Representative Rodrigo Valadares accused Havaianas of running an “explicit political campaign”; Nikolas Ferreira, also a deputy, made a point of changing the brand’s slogan, “Havaianas: everyone uses it”, to “Havaianas, not everyone will use it now”.
And so the announcement spread on social media, where it already has many millions of views — and also many comments and republications “making fun” of Bolsonaro and his recent attempt while under house arrest.
What if Havaianas launched an electronic ankle bracelet just for the right foot?
— Pobre de Direita 🇧🇷 (@Pobre_d_Direita)
But this Monday, the noise showed in the shares. Alpargatas shares fell 2.4%, to 11.44 reais (around 1.73 euros), on a day when the stock market’s main index, Ibovespa, fell just 0.21%, according to consultancy Elos Ayta, cited by . The drop led to an estimated reduction of 152 million reais (22.7 million euros) in market capitalization.
Translating these numbers: investors reacted with fears association of the brand with an identity dispute and fears of a boycott that would affect sales of the famous flip-flops, although the impact, according to analysts, should be short term. Often, the dynamics follow a pattern: intense outrage, peak visibility, calls for boycott, and then gradual dissipation.
It wasn’t bad for everyone: on the contrary. THE Ipanemaa direct competitor of Havaianas, benefited from the effect and registered a significant increase in followers on Instagram — certainly with right-wing ideologies.
Neither brand has yet commented on the controversy, which can be seen as a decompression strategy: sometimes brands prefer not to respond formally to these phenomena, so as not to fuel further debate. Although this strategy can carry risks, particularly when the narrative that dominates the networks transforms the opinion of one side of the discussion into the “truth”.
Tomás Guimarães, ZAP //
