Via No Borders

The following statement was issued by the International Committee of the Democratic Socialists of America. Carolina Iara is a member of the Party for Socialism and Freedom; she was elected to São Paulo city council as part of a collective ticket of activists running on the Bancada Feminista ticket. Translation in Portuguese below / Tradução em Portuguese abaixo.

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Tuesday night, January 26, 2021, in a horrifying act of cowardice and terror in Brazil, an assassination attempt was made on the life of Carolina Iara, the newly elected PSOL city co-counselor of São Paulo. While the situation is evolving, we are deeply relieved to learn that Iara herself, as well as her family, escaped harm. However, the perpetrator remains at large as of the publishing of this statement, and the threat of further violence continues to exist as an inescapable reality for those who defy the Bolsonaro regime. 

The attack on Iara, who is a black, trans, intersex woman, is reflective of the disproportionate violence inflicted on black trans women globally, with Brazil standing out as the deadliest country in the world for trans people. Violence against the LGBTQ+ community has increased since Bolsonaro was elected, and one of his first acts as president was to review school textbooks eliminating any references to feminism, homosexuality, and violence against women. This act of violence against Iara is part of a matrix of oppression against trans women spanning to the very top of the Brazilian government.

DSA unequivocally, with one voice, as one organization, condemns this heinous act of violence. We stand with the oppressed of Brazil and the world. We express our total solidarity with Carolina Iara, her family, her friends, and her comrades. Fascist violence will not seize the day, nor silence the voices of the people. Estamos com Carolina Iara! We stand with Carolina Iara!