Duda Salabert
Brazilian politician and literature teacher
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Duda Salabert Rosa is a Brazilian politician, environmentalist, and teacher.[1] In 2020, she became the first transgender person to serve on the city council of Belo Horizonte after campaigning as a Democratic Labour Party candidate. She was elected with over 37,000 votes, more than any city council candidate in the history of Minas Gerais at the time.
Duda Salabert | |
|---|---|
Salabert in 2025 | |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| Assumed office 1 February 2023 | |
| Constituency | Minas Gerais |
| Councillor of Belo Horizonte | |
| In office 1 January 2021 – 1 February 2023 | |
| Constituency | At-large |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Duda Salabert Rosa Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
| Party | PSOL (2017–2019; 2026–present) |
Other political affiliations | PDT (2019–2026) |
| Spouse |
Raíssa Novaes (m. 2011) |
| Alma mater | Minas Gerais State University |
| Occupation | Teacher |
Since 2023, she has represented the state of Minas Gerais as a federal deputy.[2]
Personal life
Salabert began working as a teacher in 2002. She cofounded Transvest, a non-governmental organization focused on fighting transphobia.[3]
Duda is a lesbian,[4] married to Raíssa. In 2019, they had a child and chose a gender-neutral name for them.[5]
In 2025, Salabert announced that she had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and giftedness. The deputy reported that the diagnostic investigation took place through a neuropsychological evaluation, after years of dealing with depressive episodes.[7]
Political activity
In 2018, Salabert campaigned as a Socialism and Liberty Party candidate to represent the state of Minas Gerais in the Brazilian Senate.[8] Salabert said that she had received invitations to campaign for other offices but chose the Senate as a form of provocation, noting that the etymology of the term senate relates to men and that "if it is a space made for gentlemen, a travesti woman seeking this space is extremely provocative".[a] She additionally stated that she had been targeted on social media and that she feared escalation to physical violence. She was 36 years old at the time.[9] Salabert received more than 350,000 votes,[8] not winning the election but becoming the first transgender person to run for the Brazilian Senate.[10]
In April 2019, Salabert left the Socialism and Liberty Party, criticizing the party for "structural transphobia" and anthropocentrism.[11]
In 2020, Salabert was elected to the city council of Belo Horizonte after campaigning as a member of the Democratic Labour Party. She was the first transgender person elected to the Belo Horizonte city council, and with 37,000 votes in support, the most-voted-for city council candidate in Minas Gerais history at the time.[8] In December 2020, the school where Salabert taught received an email threatening both her and the school if she remained in her position, and she was fired.[10]
In June 2021, Salabert announced that she would campaign for a Senate seat in 2022. She had previously pledged to serve for her entire 4-year term on the Belo Horizonte city council, but stated that she had been advised by the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to seek a position in the federal government so that she could be protected by the Polícia Federal after having received death threats.[10]
In 2022 Salabert and Erika Hilton became the first two openly transgender people elected to the National Congress of Brazil, with both of them elected to its Chamber of Deputies.[12][13]
On March 31, 2026, she announced that she would leave the Democratic Labour Party and return to the Socialism and Liberty.[14]
Notes
- Original quote in Portuguese: "Eu aceitei pelo caráter simbólico. Senado, na sua etimologia, significa 'senhores'. Se é um espaço feito para senhores, uma mulher travesti disputando esse espaço é extremamente provocativo."