For the first time in history, the Brazilian National Congress will have two trans people in its composition.
Erika Hilton (PDOL, left) and Duda Salabert (PDT, left) were elected federal deputies in Sunday’s elections (2) with 256,000 and 208,000 votes, respectively.
Both are active in politics.
Erika debuted as a state legislator for the Activist Caucus in 2018.
In the dispute two years later, she left the post to run for a city council seat and became the first transgender person elected to the São Paulo City Council.
Duda was also the first transgender elected as a city councilor in Belo Horizonte in 2020, receiving the most votes in the city.
Despite breaking barriers, both received numerous death threats while in office.
Salabert even voted in a bulletproof vest this Sunday.
In addition to the two winners, other trans people ran for office across the country.
According to a survey by the National Association of Transgender and Transsexual People (Antra), 80 candidacies were registered, 38 at the federal and 42 at the state levels.
Linda Brasil (PSOL) was elected as the first trans deputy in Sergipe. Dani Balbi also became a pioneer in the same position for Rio de Janeiro.
Carolina Iara won the elections in São Paulo for the PSOL Women’s Parliament.