Brazil's first transgender lawmakers elected to congress
STORY: Brazil has elected its first ever
transgender lawmakers to Congress
Duda Salabert's campaign
focused on environmental issues
while Erika Hilton called her historic election
a case of 'justice for her ancestors'
[Erika Hilton, Sao Paulo City Council Member]
"I think that being a woman, Black, travesti, means always having more challenges than other people. We have the challenge of getting people to recognize that our political project is not just for travesti and transsexuals or for the LGBT community.”
Hilton and Salabert say their top priority now is to get
former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva elected
Brazil is one of the most dangerous
places in the world for trans women
and President Jair Bolsonaro has frequently
denigrated women and LGBT people
[Alheli Partida, Victory Institute's Global Programs Director]
“I do believe they will have a tough job in the position, in the sense that anti-rights and conservatism is very strong still in the country. I do believe that even in those difficult situations and contexts they will make an amazing work”.
