Now There Are Seven Elected Trans National Legislators!

When she tried to get elected to Ecuador's National Assembly back in 2013, it didn't happen that year for Diane Rodriguez.   

But despite the loss, she didn't give up on making that dream of getting elected to office a reality.    On February 19, 2017 the 34 year old Rodriguez became a member of a very small (for now) international sorority in terms of trans feminine politicians who were elected to their national legislatures.

And South America is leading the way.   Of the now seven trans women around the world who have been elected to their national legislatures, three of them,  Michelle Suarez of Uruguay, Tamara Adrian of Venezuela, and now Rodriguez reside on the South American continent.

The others in case you're wondering, are Georgina Beyer of New Zealand, Vladimir Luxuria of Italy, Anna Grodzka of Poland and Geraldine Roman of the Philippines.

Rodriguez ean on a platform of combatting anti-trans workplace discrimination, combatting bullying aimed at transgender students and legalizing adoption for same gender couples. 

It probably also didn't hurt her chances that Ecuadorean trans people were allowed for the first time to vote as their chosen gender.  In Ecuador, man and women wait in separate lines to cast their ballots.

Rodriguez also become a parent in 2015 with her transmasculine partner Machado and a psychologist along the way.  She has received some death threats now that she is an elected politician. 

"Being a public figure comes at a price. But is see that cost is a sacrifice for younger generations so that they don't have to suffer the same experiences that I suffer through now."

As a legislator, she fights against a broad spectrum of injustices, but she hasn't forgotten as a trans person that she is also fighting against her community marginalization in Ecuadorian society, and it her primary legislative focus.

Congratulation to Senator Rodriguez!   Hope it happens soon in my own country. 

Diane Rodriguez Sues Ecuador In Trans Human Rights Case

The last time I talked about Ecuadorian trans activist Diane Rodriguez on this blog I along with the rest of Trans World was anxiously waiting to see if she'd make trans history and become only the fourth trans person on Planet Earth and the first in the Western Hemisphere to be elected to her national legislature.

That didn't happen for her last February, but Diane is back in the news.  She has filed a lawsuit against the Ecuadorian government in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights based in San Jose, Costa Rica to get her nation to correct the gender code on her identity documents. 

Rodriguez is the founder of the Ecuadorian TBLGI rights organization X Silhouette Association and has been battling for five years to have her identity documents changed.  

In 2009 she set a precedent in Ecuador by becoming the first transperson in her nation to take her case to the Civil Registry and have her name legally changed.

The problem is that Ecuador is one of those nations that won't change the gender code on those identity documents without surgical intervention.  That requirement for genital surgery not only is a medical barrier for some people, it's also a fiscal one because many poor Ecuadorian transpeople who would like to change name and gender code to match their gender presentation don't have the means to afford SRS. 

Ecuador’s constitution protects people on the basis of ‘aesthetic freedom,’ and guarantees equality before the law without discrimination on the basis of gender identity. - See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/transgender-woman-sues-ecuador-refusing-recognize-her-new-gender180214#sthash.I0RxXnYW.dpuf

Ecuador's constitution has language in it that not only guarantees equality of the law without discrimination  based on gender identity, but protects people on the basis of 'aesthetic freedom'.

‘I have to continue the process, not only for me but for the entire GLBT community, and in this case specifically for the trans community,’ Rodriguez said - See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/transgender-woman-sues-ecuador-refusing-recognize-her-new-gender180214#sthash.I0RxXnYW.dpuf

"I have to continue the process, not only for me but for the entire GLBT community, and in this case specifically for the trans community," Rodriguez said in an interview.

She is hoping that in taking her case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, they will rule that those clauses in the Ecuadorian constitution also include the right of pre-op (or non operative) transsexuals to change the gender codes in their identity documents. 

Best of luck to Diane and hope she gets an important legal win for herself and the transpeople of Ecuador.

Darn, Still No South American Trans National Legislators Yet

While South American nations have made outstanding progress on trans issues over the last few years and leaders are emerging like Venezuela's Tamara Adrian who are garnering international recognition, looks like the international trans community will have to wait a little longer before we see a trans legislator elected on the South American continent.

Colombia's Shelcy Sanchez attempted to make that giant electoral leap for transkind back in 2010 when she became the first open transperson on the South American continent and first in her nation to run for a seat in their national legislature but was unsuccessful in her Colombian House of Representatives race. 


Back in February 30 year old Diane Rodriguez became the first out transperson in Ecuador to run for a seat in her nation's national legislature.  

The election was held on February 17 and unfortunately the psychology student came up short in her history making run as a member of the leftist Ruptura 25 party for a seat in Ecuador's National Assembly.

The eyes of the international trans community turned to Chile's Valentina Verbal as she picked up the baton in the attempt to make international trans history as the South American continent's first trans national legislator 

Verbal was also making history as the first open trans candidate in Chile.  She was running for the seat in Chile's national legislature representing northern Santiago’s Recoleta-Independencia district as a member of a center-right political party with a campaign message focused on achieving equality rather than her district’s specific needs.

Chile's parliamentary election isn't until November, but unfortunately Verbal announced she is dropping out as a candidate for a reason that is painfully familiar to trans people world wide:  documentation issues. 

Verbal ran for office having applied for a legal name change that isn't official yet.   She is a well known activist in the country and active in her party but was told by Chilean election officials she either had to run for her seat with her old male name on the ballot or pull out of the race.  


“I thought, perhaps naively, that given the vacuum of electoral laws, and filling in that space with the anti-discrimination law, there wouldn’t be trouble getting what I asked,” Verbal said.

The reason Verbal pulled out is she felt that having been in Chilean politics for  several years and risen to prominence as Valentina Verbal, voters wouldn’t recognize her old male birth name on the ballot and connect it with the person she is now and the campaign would be a wash.

While she may have been sidelined for this election cycle by the name change issue, Verbal said, "I’m sure of one thing: I will continue in politics.”

Verbal also said something that I and a lot of folks have made the case for here in the States and on this blog in terms of having more trans people get involved in electoral politics and running for office at all governmental levels. 

“In order to get strong social changes, it’s necessary to make them from a position of power, in particular from Parliament. Because Chile is a very legalistic country, it’s important to have laws to provoke these changes.”

While the first South American, first in the Western Hemisphere and fourth trans person worldwide elected to their national legislature won't happen in this election cycle unless there's somebody running I'm not aware of yet,  it's only a matter of time before it does.   

Ecuador's Diane Rodriguez Poised To Make History

February 17 could see international trans history being made if all goes well for 30 year old psychology student Diane Rodriguez on election night.

The student and trans activist from Guayaquil heads a trans rights organization called Silhouette X and is running for a seat in Ecuador's 100 member  unicameral Congress as a member of the leftist Ruptura 25 party.  

"My focus will be on all minorities, vulnerable ethnic groups and feminist causes,: she said in an AFP interview.   One of the legislative agenda items she'd like to see happen is same gender marriage in her nation that is 85% Catholic. 

But then again, Argentina is heavily Catholic and not only has marriage equality but a groundbreaking gender identity law on the books as well.

She came out as trans as a teen. In a scenario far too familiar to many of us around the world, she was kicked out of her parent's home for a while before being allowed to return home and pursue her dreams.

Rodriguez also won a precedent setting legal battle in 2009 that allowed her to change her name on her ID card but not the gender marker. 

She subsequently with the help of other NGO's launched a campaign that calls for individuals to be allowed to choose which gender they want to register as

If she is successful, she would become not only the first open trans lawmaker in her nation, but the first on the South American continent and the only the fourth ever in the entire world.  If she goes into a runoff election for this open seat she is competing for, that would take place on April 7.