Illustration: Florencia Cappella for Presentes. Brazil's Supreme Federal Court ruled yesterday that transgender people can legally change their name in the Civil Registry. They do not need to have undergone gender reassignment surgery or have judicial authorization, according to the Court 's website. "We have the right to be different in our plurality and our way of being," said Court President Cármen Lúcia. The decision was made through Direct Action of Unconstitutionality (ADI) 427. Those who voted in favor, in the vote that began on Wednesday, February 28, were Justices Marco Aurélio Mello (the rapporteur for the action), Alexandre de Moraes, Edson Fachin, Luis Roberto Barroso, Rosa Weber, and Luiz Fux.

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Yesterday, Ministers Gilmar Mendes, Ricardo Lewandowski, Celso de Mello, and Carmen Lúcia joined the group. Marco Aurélio Mello said that, in his opinion, the requirements should be: being over 21 years old and having a medical diagnosis from a multidisciplinary team, after two years of joint support.

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For his part, Minister Roberto Barroso argued that name changes in the civil registry can be made without judicial authorization. This opinion was shared by most of the other judges. “Gender identity is not proven,” he said, citing the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR).