First Trans Lawmaker Is Elected to Chile’s Legislature

Activist Emilia Schneider, a trans woman, has become the first trans official to be elected in Chile after the elections on November 21.

Schneider, 25, will be sworn into the Chamber of Deputies, the country's lower chamber, at a ceremony in March. She'll represent the 10th District of Santiago, according to Gay Times.

"Today the security, dignity, and integrity of the rights of the LGTBI community and women are at stake," Schneider said after being elected, reported the outlet.

The activist came into the public eye after being the representative of the University of Chile Student Federation. In that role, she led students in protests from 2019 to 2021.

She's also the great-granddaughter of General Rene Schneider, who became commander-in-chief of the Chilean Army in 1969 and served until he was assassinated a year later.

In December, the country votes in a presidential runoff election after no candidate secured the necessary 50% majority to win. It looks to be a contest between Jose Antonio Kast, a far-right candidate, and Gabriel Boric, a left-wing one. Kast came first in the election. He has previously been against same-sex marriage and abortion.

"The far-right seeks fear to prevail, but we have to make hope prevail, the same one that led us to vote for a new Constitution [in 2020] and the one that has prevailed in this last decade of mobilizations," Scheider said, according to MercoPress.

She continued: "Chile does not want to look to the past, but it is not yet clear what the future is with two such different alternatives."