Photo: Salterain Studio for the book "I AM" by Susette Kok.

Today at 10 a.m., Michelle Suárez was sworn in as Uruguay's first transgender senator. She took office as the alternate for Senator Marcos Carámbula, of the ruling left-wing coalition, Frente Amplio. A lawyer and LGBT activist, she is 33 years old. "For the same actions, words, feelings, and thoughts that once led to my harassment, persecution, and punishment, I am now applauded by many," the senator said, adding that "this signifies a positive change." Her words were immediately met with applause. Suárez began her activism in the Communist Party about four years ago, when, in a context of increasing violence against the trans population, she felt that party representation was needed to achieve more change. Her activism for LGBTI rights began in the diversity organization Black Sheep.

"The worst discrimination is invisibility."

She was the first trans woman to graduate with a law degree from the University of the Republic's Faculty of Law in 2009, the same year the Gender Identity Law was passed in her country. She says her resilience always stemmed from redoubling her efforts. The more she faced discrimination, the more determined she became. She spent her childhood in Salinas, a small town in the Department of Canelones, 50 km from Montevideo, and moved to the Uruguayan capital at age 15. Although she had a sheltered childhood—her mother always supported her—her adolescence as a trans girl was very difficult, especially during her high school years. “My mother never punished me. She made my childhood very happy. She wasn't naive: she knew what was going on. She saw the dolls I bought with my savings and told me how to wash their clothes. (…) My first real shock was high school,” she recalls. Those five hours from Monday to Friday were like Guernica, absolute hell. They saw me as a hypersexualized woman. If I greeted a classmate, it was because I wanted to go to the bathroom with him. That blocked any kind of healthy relationship. I could endure the whippings, but they couldn't. And the institution remained silent. The worst discrimination is invisibility,” she said in a Interview with journalist Marcelo Jelen, from La Diaria.

Improve the living conditions of trans people

In Uruguay there is Gender Identity Law Since 2009, legal name changes have been permitted, but comprehensive policies for the trans population are still lacking. Trans people suffer daily violence, have little to no access to employment, and face difficulties accessing healthcare. For this reason, the [unclear] was created comprehensive bill for transgender people, which is already in the Senate's Population, Development, and Inclusion Committee. Senator Michelle Suárez is one of its authors and promised to work to make it law. "The opportunities that I may have right now are impossible for many of my transgender colleagues, because they don't have the freedom to choose their personal fulfillment and pursue the vocations and dreams that I was able to pursue," she said at a press conference.