Transgender candidates in the Brazil celebrated a monumental victory on Monday in the municipal elections where they were allowed to contest for under their chosen names for the first time.

Erika Hilton, who emerged victorious in a seat from Sao Paulo, tweeted “WE WON! BLACK TRANS WOMAN ELECTED TO CITY COUNCIL. First time in history.”

Hilton, a well known as an activist, ran her campaign for the left-wing Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL), while Thammy Miranda yet another trans candidate finished as one of the top most voted politicians for the Brazilian economic capital’s 55-seat city council. 

Miranda, a trans man and an actor contested for the right-wing Liberal party, is well known for his role in Father’s Day ad campaign for cosmetic company Natura.

Duda Salabert, a trans woman who contested from Belo Horizonte, capital of the southeastern state of Minas Gerais, won the most number of votes of any candidate, to become the first trans person elected to the city council.

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Salabert, who is a teacher, ran for the center-left Democratic Labour Party. In Aracaju, capital of the northeastern state of Sergie, voters also elected the city’s first trans city councilwoman in Linda Brasil, of the PSOL. 

“It’s historic, and also a very big responsibility, because I’m representing a community that has always been excluded,” she said after her victory.

The 2020 polls were the first since right-wing President Jail Bolsonaro was elected to power in 2018.

The election marked a clear disavowal of right wing politics as voters rejected Bolsonaro’s favourite candidates. 

In a country where 124 trans people were murdered last year, electoral authorities allowed trans candidates to run for the first time this year under the names they actually use, in place of the ones mentioned in their birth certificates.

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While no trans candidates were elected in Rio De Janeiro, the widow of Marielle Franco, a gay and black-rights activist turned city councilwoman who was murdered in 2018.