South America
Transgender Venezuelan presidential candidate’s campaign an ‘important step’
Tamara Adrián endorsed opposition leader who won Oct. 22 primary
Venezuela on Sunday saw a historic milestone for LGBTQ rights with Tamara Adrián on the ballot as the first transgender woman to run for president in the country.
The country’s opposition held a presidential primary where different political sectors, self-defined as the opposition to President Nicolás Maduro’s regime, ran with the commitment that the defeated candidates would unite behind the winner: María Corina Machado from the center-right Vente Venezuela party.
Adrián after the results became known went to Machado’s election headquarters to give her her unconditional support.
“Together until the end,” they both said during an emotional and celebratory celebration.
Adrián also expressed her conviction that the opposition’s unity is fundamental to win in 2024.
“I come to express my support to a long-time friend,” she said. “She knows that she can count on me in everything to free the country.”
Adrián told the Washington Blade that “even though we didn’t win, this road was an important step we collectively took to once and for all end the regime of Nicolas Maduro, which has done so much harm to our people.”
“We showed that LGBTQ people can go very far and that diversity is our strength,” said Adrián.
The results mark a significant step towards inclusion and queer representation in the political arena of a country where sexual and gender diversity has often proven controversial. Although Adrián did not win her primary, it was undoubtedly an important step in making it clear that LGBTQ people can participate in the country’s political process.
Adrián, a prominent figure in the fight for LGBTQ rights in Venezuela and around the world, emerged as one of the most prominent candidates in the primary.
She won a seat in the National Assembly in 2015, becoming the first trans woman in Venezuela elected to the legislative body.
Adrián has tirelessly advocated for equal rights for the LGBTQ community and has worked hard to raise awareness about violence and discrimination that trans Venezuelans face.
Activists and many of her supporters in Venezuela praised her candidacy as an important step towards a more inclusive society. Human rights groups across South America have also expressed hope that Adrián’s campaign will inspire other LGBTQ people to become active in politics and spur social change in their respective countries.
“This candidacy was not only a testimony of my dedication and leadership, but also a powerful message about the acceptance and growing support for trans people in our society, in addition to making visible the failures of the Venezuelan state to respect the civil rights of trans people,” Adrián told the Blade. “We are at the tail of the rest of the countries in the region and with our participation in this electoral event things will definitely change.”
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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