Chile just elected its first transgender woman to Congress

Emilia Schneider / Facebook

Transgender woman Emilia Schneider was elected on Sunday to the Chamber of Deputies making her the first trans person to hold office in the lower house of Chile's bicameral Congress.

Born in 1996 in Santiago de Chile, Emilia Schneider is the great-granddaughter of General René Schneider, who was Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army between 1969 and 1970, the year in which he was assassinated for his defense of the Constitution, known as the Schneider Doctrine

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She completed her primary and secondary studies at the Latin American Integration College, an educational establishment close to the Chilean political left. Upon graduating from high school, she entered the Law degree at the University of Chile. She was a spokesperson for the Feminist Taking of the Faculty of Law during the feminist demonstrations in Chile in 2018, being the first trans woman to be a spokesperson for the 8M Feminist Assembly.

"This is a day of mixed feelings." Schneider tweeted, "On the one hand, hate advances On the other, there is hope. I want to thank you for all your support, and today I am humbled and honored to be the first trans deputy of Chile. This is a step thanks to years of feminist and dissident struggle"

Este es un día de sentimientos encontrados. Por un lado, avanza el odio. Por otro, hay esperanza. Quiero agradecer todo su apoyo, y hoy asumo con humildad y mucho honor ser la primera diputada trans de Chile. Este es un paso gracias a años de lucha feminista y disidente ♥️

— Emilia Schneider (@emischneiderv) November 22, 2021

#OrgulloTrans compañera💖💛💜💖💚✊🔥 pic.twitter.com/KyyqFt55fM

— Asociación OTD Chile (@OTDChile) November 22, 2021

The strongest finisher in the priliminary elections for president, José Antonio Kast, is a vocal opponent of the femimist movement and most importantly for the trans community, the gender idenity law which allows trans people 14 and older to change their identification documents without first undergoing surgery.

“Our dignity as women and as sexual diversities is at risk. Kast's program, even if he says otherwise, says to go back on issues such as the gender identity law, so that trans people stop having the rights to our identity and repeal the abortion law on three grounds ”, she added.