Brazil Elects Two Trans Women Into Congress

On October 2, two trans women were elected into Brazil’s congress. This is the first time that any trans individual has been elected into Brazil’s congress and a monumental achievement.

One of the women, Erika Hilton, said after her win, “We are going to get off the street corners; we are going to get out of jails; we are going to get off crack corners and prostitution and start to think about public policies and legislation. Our mandate in Brasília will be more organized, more committed, and closer to people.”

Hilton’s campaign focused on education, social housing, and LGBTQ rights in Brazil. Duda Salabert’s campaign focused on environmental issues, as El Pais states, “In the recent federal elections, she boasted of running the first ‘carbon-free’ campaign in history, without using pamphlets, flags or stickers. Her proposals include reducing the use of pesticides and diversifying the economy away from natural resource extraction.”

Converse to this triumph in Brazil’s congress, Brazil’s presidential election is still unsure. Jair Bolsonaro, the current president, and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have gone on to the next round of elections, which will take place on October 30. The current president, Bolsonaro, is notably anti-trans and LGBTQ, proudly proclaiming his homophobia and transphobia. Under his legislation, Brazil’s environmental and indigenous spaces have been destroyed by mining, logging, and other industrial expansions.

As Maria Laura Canineu, the Brazil director at Human Rights Watch, said, “The Brazilian government has transformed an agency charged with promoting and protecting Indigenous rights into an agency that jeopardizes them. The government’s anti-Indigenous rights policies and statements have emboldened miners, loggers, land-grabbers, and poachers to encroach on Indigenous territories with impunity, leading to devastating consequences for Indigenous people and the environment.”