Dilma Rousseff received, at Planalto Palace, Congressman Jean Wyllys, Minister Nilma Lino Gomes and representatives of the LGBT National Council – Photo/Credit: UOL Notícias
President Dilma Rousseff, who has been struggling with an impeachment process in the Brazilian Congress — not something we Brazilians are proud of – has taken an important stand in favor of transgender people in Brazil. Despite all the fuss fueled by congressmen and congresswomen who oppose her administration, many of whom have been under investigation by the Federal Police for corruption, Rousseff has not been found guilty of any crime so far. And amid such an unbearable turmoil, President Rousseff received Deputy Jean Wyllys, the only out-and-proud gay Congressman in the Brazilian Parliament, Minister Nilma Lino Gomes (Ms) and representatives of the LGBT National Council.
Many times accused of being an LGBT ally, although she has not done that much for the LGBT community, Rousseff seems to be less harmful than some of her opponents.
During last Thursday’s meeting, she signed a federal decree that allows transexual and transvestites to use their social names in all public agencies and State enterprises that operate on a federal level. The measure contemplates both employees and users of those agencies and companies.
The so-called social name is the name chosen by the individual in accordance with the gender they identify with, regardless of the name registered on their birth certificate.
According to Rogério Sottili, Special Secretary of Human Rights, the decree allows the use of the social name throughout the system as a whole, such as in forms, tags, and acts. Yet, he reminds that this change does not modify official records, such as the ID card, for instance. It would take a new law to do so, but he considers that the decree will open doors for “the important movement of change in record”.
Still according to him, “a person who is born John, and nowadays is identified as Mary, won’t have Mary as her name in their social document. She will be known as John. So, this lack of possibilities causes embarrassment, promotes prejudice, promotes violence.”
As to the decree, it will take the measure six months to be implemented in official forms. Perhaps, it will take one year to take effect system-wide.
Though the measure cheers up transgender rights advocates, it is worrying that most of the politicians who oppose Rousseff’s administrations display prejudice and even hatred both against the LGBT movement and the community that identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersexual and asexual. Most of her opponents are extreme right-winged and are religious fundamentalist deputies and senators.
Although there is still vocal support, Jean Wyllys, who stood beside the President as she signed the decree, is the most untiring defender of sexual diversity and identity gender policies in the Congress – a stronghold of conservative, chauvinist, homophobic and transphobic lawmakers.
With information form, Uol Notíciais – adapted by Sergio Viula for Queer Voices: http://noticias.uol.com.br/politica/ultimas-noticias/2016/04/28/dilma-assina-decreto-que-permite-transexuais-usarem-nome-social-em-orgaos-federais.htm
Congressman Jean Wyllys’ abridged trajectory
Jean Wyllys during the 2016 Congress on Focus Award
Jean Wyllys de Matos Santos was born in the small town of Alagoinha, Bahia, on March 10th, 1974. He is a journalist, with a master’s degree in linguistics from the Federal University of Bahia. He is a writer and, more recently, a politician, elected in 2010 as a federal deputy by PSOL (Solidarity Party) from Rio de Janeiro. His mandate started in February 2011.
Interestingly, Jean Wyllys took part in the 2005 edition of Big Brother Brazil and won the reality show competition. That’s when the whole country came to know the great person he is.
Ironically, Jean Wyllys was elected to the Brazilian parliament with the lowest amount of votes from Rio de Janeiro, which meant getting 13,016 votes (0,2%), being dragged upwards by the performance of a mate from the same party, Deputy Chico Alencar, who had been granted 240.671 (3%) of the votes. Nonetheless, in 2012, the Congress on Focus Award (Prêmio Congresso em Foco), Jean Wyllys, who had won the elections by a slight margin, was chosen the BEST FEDERAL DEPUTY OF BRAZIL by the Internet voters. In the 2013 edition of the award, he took the prize again, and in 2015 he was re-elected with direct votes for another 4-year legislature, being awarded a prize by Congress in Focus (Congresso em Foco) for best deputy during last year’s legislation period.
Jean Wyllys is also the first Congressman of Brazil to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality and engage in the promotion of equal rights: the same rights with the same names to all persons. Due to his inclusive attitude and his unmerchantable humanism, besides his defense of an actual secularist State, Wyllys has been targeted by a heavily dishonest campaign launched by fundamentalists and opportunists, self-labeled as evangelicals, who have taken over some positions in the Brazilian Parliament.
