South America
Former firefighter arrested in connection with Rio councilwoman’s murder
Marielle Franco was a bisexual woman of African descent
Brazilian police on Monday arrested a third person in connection with the 2018 murder Rio de Janeiro Municipal Councilwoman Marielle Franco and her driver.
Reuters reported officers arrested Maxwell Simões Correia, a former firefighter who allegedly hid the guns that two former police officers used to shoot Franco and Anderson Gomes in Rio’s Lapa neighborhood on March 14, 2018.
Franco, a bisexual woman and single mother of African descent, grew up in Maré, a favela in the northern part of Rio that is close to the city’s international airport. Franco, among other things, was an outspoken critic of police raids in Rio’s favelas that have left hundreds of people dead.
Authorities in 2019 arrested two former police officers in connection with Franco’s murder.
Reuters reported one of them, Elcio de Queiroz, who prosecutors say drove the car that he and Ronnie Lessa, his alleged co-conspirator, used in the shooting, has entered into a plea agreement.
Lessa lived in the same large condominium complex in Rio’s exclusive Barra da Tijuca neighborhood in which former President Jair Bolsonaro lives.
Bolsonaro, a former Brazilian Army captain who represented Rio in Congress for decades before he became president, had yet to be elected when Franco and Gomes were murdered.
Bolsonaro has strongly denied media reports that indicate Lessa visited his home before the killings. Franco’s widow, Rio Municipal Councilwoman Mônica Benício, during a March 2022 interview with the Washington Blade described the fact that Lessa and Bolsonaro were neighbors as “just a coincidence.”
Lessa and Queiroz remain in custody.
Justice Minister Flávio Dino on Monday said during a press conference in Brasília, the Brazilian capital, that Queiroz has provided investigators with information they can use to help identify others who plotted to assassinate Franco and Gomes.
“We are close to solving this horrendous crime,” said Dino.
Benício on Monday praised Dino and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for their continued efforts to investigate Franco’s murder.
“I would like to thank Minister Flavio Dino and President Lula for their efforts to seek a solution to this crime that has shaken our state’s structures,” tweeted Benício. “Who had Marielle killed? I have faith and conviction that we will have that answer.”
Agradeço ao empenho do ministro @FlavioDino e do presidente @LulaOficial em buscar uma solução para esse crime que abalou as estruturas do nosso Estado. Quem mandou matar Marielle? Tenho fé e convicção de que teremos essa resposta.
— Monica Benicio 🏳️🌈 (@monica_benicio) July 24, 2023
Benício on Monday sent the Washington Blade this statement.
“The Federal Police and Public Prosecutor’s Office operation renews our hopes in having an answer about who are the principals and their motivations for the murder of Marielle and Anderson.
The role of the FP in investigations, in collaboration with the MPRJ (The State of Rio de Janeiro’s Public Ministry), has been fundamental, But our struggle as family members and civil society, which formed a large task force over these five years, is what has made this case stand out.
Maxwell’s arrest, today, is an important step towards the accountability of others directly involved in the execution of the crime, but I hope that the PF and the Public Prosecutor’s Office continue in this mutual cooperation action to take Ronnie Lessa and Elcio Queiroz to trial later this year. The pact of silence between these killers has been broken, it is necessary to act with agility and prudence to reach the principals and their motivations. Answering who ordered Marielle’s death and why is essential for us to restore democracy in our country. I am hopeful that moment is approaching.”
Chile
Far-right José Antonio Kast elected Chile’s next president
Advocacy group declares ‘state of alert’ over president-elect’s opposition to LGBTQ rights
José Antonio Kast on Sunday won the second round of Chile’s presidential election.
Kast is the far-right leader of the Republican Party who was a member of the country’s House of Deputies from 2002-2018. He defeated Jeannette Jara, a member of the Communist Party of Chile who was former labor and social welfare minister in outgoing President Gabriel Boric’s government, by a 58.2-41.8 percent margin.
The election’s first round took place on Nov. 16.
Kast and Jara faced each other in the runoff after no candidate received at least 50 percent of the vote in the first round. Kast will take office on March 11.
“Under his leadership, we are confident Chile will advance shared priorities to include strengthening public security, ending illegal immigration, and revitalizing our commercial relationship,” said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday in a statement. “The United States looks forward to working closely with his administration to deepen our partnership and promote shared prosperity in our hemisphere.”
The Washington Blade has previously reported Kast has expressed his opposition to gender-specific policies, comprehensive sex education, and reforms to Chile’s anti-discrimination laws. The president-elect has also publicly opposed the country’s marriage equality law that took effect in 2022.
The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, a Chilean LGBTQ and intersex rights group known by the acronym Movilh, in a statement acknowledged the election result. Movilh also declared a “state of alert, given this leader’s (Kast’s) public and political trajectory, characterized for decades by systematic opposition to laws and policies aimed at equality and nondiscrimination of LGBTIQ+ individuals.”
“We urge the president-elect and far-right sectors that follow him to understand and internalize (the fact) that the rights of LGBTIQ+ people are inscribed in the universality of human rights, and they are not built upon an ideology or a political trend,” said Movilh in its statement. “This is not, and never has been, a left-wing or right-wing issue, although some on both sides have gone to great lengths to suggest otherwise, without any basis other than their own partisan or electoral aspirations.”
Organizado Trans Diversidades, a group that advocates on behalf of trans and nonbinary Chileans, on social media said it will “continue the fight for our community’s human rights.”
Colombia
Colombia anunció la inclusión de las categorías ‘trans’ y ‘no binario’ en los documentos de identidad
Registraduría Nacional anunció el cambio el 28 de noviembre
Ahora los ciudadanos colombianos podrán seleccionar las categorías ‘trans’ y ‘no binario’ en los documentos de identidad del país.
Este viernes la Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil anunció que añadió las categorías ‘no binario’ y ‘trans’ en los distintos documentos de identidad con el fin de garantizar los derechos de las personas con identidad diversa.
El registrador nacional, Hernán Penagos, informó que hizo la inclusión de estas dos categorías en los documentos de: registro civil, tarjeta de identidad y cédula de ciudadanía.
Según la registraduría: “La inclusión de estas categorías representa un importante avance en materia de garantía de derechos de las personas con identidad de género diversa”.
Estas categorías estarán en el campo de ‘sexo’ en el que están normalmente las clasificaciones de ‘femenino’ y ‘masculino’ en los documentos de identidad.
En 2024 se inició la ejecución de diferentes acciones orientadas implementar componentes “‘NB’ y ‘T’ en el campo ‘sexo’ de los registros civiles y los documentos de identidad”.
Las personas trans existen y su identidad de género es un aspecto fundamental de su humanidad, reconocido por la Corte Constitucional de Colombia en sentencias como T-236/2023 y T-188/2024, que protegen sus derechos a la identidad y no discriminación. La actualización de la Registraduría implementa estos fallos que ya habían ordenado esos cambios en documentos de identidad.
Por su parte, el registrador nacional, Penagos, comentó que: “se trata del cumplimiento de unas órdenes por parte de la Corte Constitucional y, en segundo lugar, de una iniciativa en la que la Registraduría ha estado absolutamente comprometida”. Y explicó que en cada “una de las estaciones integradas de servicio de las más de 1.200 oficinas que tiene la Registraduría Nacional se va a incluir todo este proceso”.
Brazil
Black transgender singer from Brazil wins three Latin Grammy Awards
Liniker performed at Las Vegas ceremony
A Black transgender singer and songwriter from Brazil on Nov. 13 won three Latin Grammy Awards.
Liniker, who is from Araraquara, a city in São Paulo State, won for Best Portuguese Language Song for her song “Veludo Marrom,” Best Portuguese-Language Urban Performance for her song “Caju” from her sophomore album of the same title, and Best Portuguese Language Contemporary Pop Album for “Caju.”
She accepted the awards during the Latin Grammy Awards ceremony that took place in Las Vegas. Liniker also performed.
“I’ve been writing since I was 16. And writing, and poetry, have been my greatest form of existence. It’s where I find myself; where I celebrate so many things I experience,” said Liniker as she accepted her first Latin Grammy on Nov. 13. “And being a composer … Being a trans composer in Brazil — a country that kills us — is extremely difficult.”
Liniker in 2022 became the first openly trans woman to win a Latin Grammy.
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