By Gisela Romero, from Paraná (Entre Ríos) - Lucía Barrera, better known as La Loba, a 37-year-old trans woman, poet, and activist, was murdered in her home in Paraná last week. Representatives of the LGBTIQ+ community of Paraná and the city's Assembly of Women, Lesbians, Transvestites, and Transgender People have formed an Assembly for Justice for Lucía. On Wednesday, July 24, they will march to the courthouse to demand justice. In recent days, several procedures have taken place as part of the investigation into the transfemicide. According to police sources who spoke to Presentes, a 25-year-old man was detained on Sunday and held in the courthouse jail, but was released yesterday afternoon.

READ MORE: Transfemicide in Paraná: LGBT+ activist Lucía La Loba was murdered

The autopsy

The prosecutor in charge of the investigation is Gonzalo Badano. The body was examined at the morgue in the town of Oro Verde, and once the autopsy was completed and the corresponding procedures were carried out, La Loba's body was released to her loved ones for burial. According to the autopsy results, the victim's body had several cuts, although death resulted from one of them, inflicted with a knife to the neck. Furthermore, forensic studies determined that the transfemicide occurred between 30 and 36 hours before Lucía was found dead in her room. The wake was held on Saturday at the chapel of the municipal cemetery in the capital of Entre Ríos province. Her loved ones gathered there to say their final goodbyes and reaffirm their commitment to seeking justice and solving her transfemicide.

"It is the responsibility of the State"

While the judicial investigation continues to find those responsible for the transfemicide, activists are calling for a mobilization on Wednesday, July 24, to demand justice and the clarification of the case. The gathering will be at 5 p.m. in Plaza 1° de Mayo in Paraná, from where participants will march to the Palace of Justice. There was another demonstration in this city yesterday. On Monday morning, July 22, a self-organized group of people from the LGBTIQ+ community gathered in Plaza 1º de Mayo, in downtown Paraná. They marched first to the office of the Provincial Area of ​​Gender Identity and Sexual Diversity Policies, which is part of the Provincial Undersecretariat of Human Rights, and then to the courthouse. «It is the State's responsibility that we, along with our fellow trans women, are experiencing these situations and daily deaths that occur in the trans community. “We need an answer now, from both the Justice system and the State. They have to acknowledge that we are human beings and that we simply want to be able to live and work,” trans activist Iara Aranzazu Quiroga told Presentes, calling for concrete public policies for the community. “We went to protest at the places where we believe we should get answers quickly. And we demonstrated in front of the Palace of Justice to show them that we are aware of this issue and that We will not remain silent until the truth comes out.“Iara added. With Lucía’s transfemicide, “the discrimination against our community is once again highlighted, and if this goes unpunished, tomorrow it could be me or my friends who are murdered next, and no one will do anything,” she emphasized. The next march, organized by the Justice for Lucía Assembly with the family’s support, will be held on Wednesday at 5 p.m. “After burying Lucía so she could rest in peace, we had the idea to hold a march demanding justice. We’re going to hold it on Wednesday, with the slogans: stop the trans murders, stop killing trans women and our fellow LGBTQ+ people, and demand that this case be solved, that we get answers, and that the perpetrator(s) be brought to justice,” Agostina Busten, Lucía’s childhood friend, told Presentes. This mobilization will be led by trans and transvestite people and the LGBTIQ+ collective. "We call on everyone to join the families in their demand for justice so that the investigation moves forward and the guilty parties are brought to justice."“Agostina stated. Lucía’s body, murdered and with several stab wounds, was found inside her home, located at 59 Ameghino Street, this Thursday. A friend who was the first to arrive at the scene said there were no signs of robbery. He was the one who reported the incident to the police. Personnel from the Investigations Division, the Homicide Division, and the Forensics Division then went to the crime scene.”

The writers' farewell

The author María de los Ángeles Balla, better known as Marita, coordinated the literary workshop that Lucía attended at the Pedro Lemebel Library in the El Sol neighborhood of the city. “She was a beautiful person. Respected and loved. A fighter for herself and for others. Cheerful, witty, intelligent. She loved words and books. She was an open book. She wanted to compete and succeed as a writer and in life. JUSTICE,” she wrote on Facebook to say goodbye to La Loba, with whom she had worked on her book, Rota, and planned her next titles. The Entre Ríos Writers' Association (ADEER) also joined in mourning, issuing a statement this Friday. “ADEER condemns the murder of our fellow writer Lucia Torres Mansilla, 'La Loba' (The She-Wolf). We express our strongest demand for justice to promptly clarify this hate crime, considering that no one can remain indifferent to such a deplorable act. We extend our deepest condolences to her family and loved ones.” “A pen has ceased to fly, not by choice or by its own nature, but by the incomprehensible hatred of those who believe they have the right to destroy a poet's generous heart. Today, the pens of Entre Ríos are written in blood, having snatched away a poet. No more deaths of trans people. Not one more! We want to be alive and free! Lucia Torres Mansilla, may your pen always shine despite those who tried to dim your light!” the statement concludes.

The She-Wolf

Loba was the name she chose to present herself as. And that's what her close friends and fellow activists called her. In the literary world, she was also known as Lucía Torres Mansilla. Under that name, she had published her book, Rota. She volunteered at a soup kitchen in the Bajada Grande neighborhood several times a week until she became a beneficiary of the Hacemos Futuro program of ANSES (Argentina's social security administration). For years, she was also a member of the board of directors of the Entre Ríos Lesbian and Gay Community (CHLER). She was an activist with the Evita Movement and the PJ's (Justicialist Party) Diversity Secretariat, from where she... supported the first trans employment quota project developed in ParanáHer colleagues say she always supported the actions of the city's LGBTQ+ community. She was also part of the Bella Bella comparsa, from CHLER, which participated in the 2013 edition of the official Paraná carnival for the first time in history.

READ MORE: Transgender employment quota approved in Paraná, Entre Ríos

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