Alejandra González Pino Explained

Alejandra González Pino
Birth Date:1968 3, df=y
Birth Place:Batuco, Santiago, Chile
Death Place:Batuco, Santiago, Chile
Occupation:Politician
Party:PH
Independent
Office:Member of the Municipal Council of Lampa
Term Start:6 December 2004
Term End:6 December 2016

Alejandra González Pino (10 March 1968 – 5 October 2022) was a Chilean politician.[1] She was the first transgender person to be elected to a political office in Chile and one of the first in Latin America after Kátia Tapety in Brazil in 1992.[2]

Biography

From a young age, González had felt as though she identified as a woman. In 1995, she joined a circus of drag queens in her neighborhood and owned her own hair salon. She gave hairdressing classes to those infected with HIV/AIDS at San José Hospital in Santiago. In 2002, she met with TECHO, for whom she served as a municipal and provincial representative.[3]

Political career

In, González was elected to the municipal council of Lampa as an independent within the Juntos Podemos Más coalition. She received 6.8% of the vote and became the first transgender person to serve in a political office in Chile.[4] She was re-elected in 2008 with 6.3% of the vote within the Concertación list and was re-elected again in 2012 with 9.5% of the vote. She lost her mandate in 2016, having only received 2.5% of the vote.

In 2012, González became Chile's first transgender deputy mayor when Graciela Ortúzar left her office to campaign elsewhere.[5] In 2014, she invoked the anti-discrimination law against Ortúzar,[6] who was sentenced by the Supreme Court of Chile in 2017 to pay a fine, a ruling described as historic by González and LGBT rights groups.[7] [8]

Alejandra González Pino died of heart failure in Batuco on 5 October 2022, at the age of 54.[9]

Notes and References

  1. News: 5 October 2022. Encuentran muerta a la primera concejala transexual de la historia de Chile. Spanish. El Contraste. 6 October 2022.
  2. Web site: Kátia Tapety: ora mulher, ora travesti? Gênero, sexualidade e identidades em trânsito no Brasil. Federal University of Pará. Portuguese.
  3. News: Robles. Víctor Hugo. 21 October 2016. Alejandra González, concejala trans de Lampa: "La primera vez que juré, pidieron presentarme de terno y corbata». Spanish. El Desconcierto. 6 October 2022.
  4. News: 20 December 2012. El concejal transexual tres veces electo. Spanish. La Tercera. 6 October 2022.
  5. News: 21 April 2014. Concejala transexual demanda a la Municipalidad de Lampa. Spanish. Publimetro Chile. 6 October 2022.
  6. News: 25 April 2014. Concejala transexual Alejandra González: "Exijo mi derecho a tener mi propia identidad". Spanish. ADN Radio Chile. 6 October 2022.
  7. News: González. Valentina. 26 December 2017. Justicia respalda a ex concejala trans que demandó a alcaldesa de Lampa por discriminación. Spanish. Radio Bío-Bío. 6 October 2022.
  8. News: Dodds. Tomás. 6 October 2022. Corte Suprema acoge demanda por discriminación contra concejala transgénero. Spanish. La Tercera. 6 October 2022.
  9. News: 6 October 2022. Alejandra González Pino, primera mujer trans electa en cargo de representación popular en Chile y Latinoamérica, falleció a los 54 años. Spanish. El Mostrador. 6 October 2022.