Entrepreneurs in Brazil are seeking to build an adults-only theme park called ErotikaLand near the city of Piracicaba, about two hours' drive from São Paulo, and they hope to open its doors by 2018. But the project is setting off debate over public displays of sexuality in Brazil, where Carnival celebrations feature scantily clad dancers and thousands of short-stay love motels strive to please an exacting clientele.

"We cannot be known as the capital of sex," Matheus Erler, a member of the Christian Socialist Party who leads the Piracicaba City Council, told reporters. He said he was worried that the park would attract "debauched individuals."

The businessman in charge of the project, Mauro Morata, tried to ease some local concerns when he made clear that the park would be built outside the city limits. Still, municipal leaders in Piracicaba and nearby São Pedro have maneuvered to block the project. Mr. Morata says he is pressing ahead anyway with his search for an acceptable site, and emphasizes the project's economic upsides: 250 new jobs and thousands of visitors who can afford $100 apiece to get in.