Amanda Paschoal: “Politics is built through dialogue, even with people who think differently.”

^{Amanda Paschoal in Panama City for the WYDE | Women’s Leadership Regional Convening. Photo: UN Women/Jose Daniel Espinosa} 

Amanda Paschoal’s path to politics began with collective action and popular education. “I arrived in politics through social movements and co-construction” she explains. “I strengthened my activism through popular education and a collective that allowed me to enter higher education as a Black trans person coming from the margins.” 

Her identity and lived experience shaped what she believes in and fights for: “Being a trans and Black person in a country that kills more trans people than any other, I have always advocated for resistance and social transformation within my micro-nuclei. Politics became a way to expand that transformation and bring more possibilities, through the fight against transphobia, racism, elitism, and all forms of violence that persist in spaces of power.”

Amanda also highlights the importance of culture and education: “Through popular education and cultural movements, I entered institutional politics. Today, I am in this position thanks to the support and affection of networks and the collective of trans people in politics, which is called the House of Hilton.” The House is named after Erika Hilton, the first Black and trans federal congresswoman in Brazil elected in 2023.

But the political path for transpeople is harrowing: “One of the main challenges for me, beyond violence, was receiving death threats during my campaign. I still have a security escort because of these threats. I am also representing the continuity of a political project that has faced hostility for challenging powerful interests and people.”

Amanda also shares that barriers are not only external. Harmful social norms define who belongs or not in leadership: “Politics is a hostile environment that pushes bodies like mine out. I had difficulty feeling even minimally comfortable in those spaces. The architecture of power is hostile, and speaking to large audiences was very hard for me at first. I’ve learned to cope through the support network I’ve built, not only with family and friends but with the people who believe in my mandate and the collective I am part of.”

Amanda’s fight is also about transforming the same norms that made her journey so challenging: “In a transphobic society, social norms won’t let a trans person shine, think, formulate, or transform public policy. Today in Brazil, because of discrimination against trans people in the labour market, many of them still resort to sex work. That should not happen. I want to transform what is considered the norm in our society, for trans people, for Black people, for women and for all minorities who do not have a voice.”

Her mark in São Paulo politics is dialogue. “Politics is built through dialogue, even with people who think differently. You need to know how to enter and exit spaces, and I think I have learned that ability. Mediation is a personal quality that I am now learning to use politically.”

Amanda’s message to other women and trans people is important: “A friend once told me that fear gets us nowhere so try to not be afraid. I never imagined I would occupy this place of power, nor see other trans people entering politics. Strengthen each other, welcome each other, take care of each other, nourish each other with courage. We are already forged in courage just to survive in a society as unequal as ours. Through self-love and self-empowerment, we can contribute to the transformation we so strongly believe in and so badly need for our societies.”