Sanchez transitioned at age 16 and is vocal in her support of gay and transgender rights in Colombia. She registered her candidacy for the Colombian House of Representatives in her home department of Valle del Cauca.
"My aspiration is born from a conviction and a necessity: to show that we can achieve a destiny away from living in the closet and seeing ourselves forced into prostitution. However, those that are obliged to work in the sex industry should enjoy dignified working conditions ... with access to social security and the healthcare system," said Sanchez.
Sanchez produces the country's only GLBT radio station and was vice president to the Fundacion Transmujer, which supports the rights of trans Colombians.Her political candidacy reportedly had the support of over 25,000 members of the Colombian GLBT community. Sanchez did have her detractors and faced death threats from people who didn't want to see her make history.
If she was successful, she would become the third transperson worldwide elected to their national legislative body after New Zealand's Georgina Beyer and Italy's.Vladimir Luxuria
She would also hold the distinction of being the first in Latin America, the first in South America and the first in the Western Hemisphere to do so.
The election was held March 14, and have been unable as of yet to determine if her candidacy was a success.
If she did, I'll definitely let you know if Shelcy made history.
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