Brazil’s October 4, 2026 election sends three openly transgender women to the 513-seat Chamber of Deputies: Erika Hilton and Duda Salabert, re-elected, and Thabatta Pimenta, newly elected. The same vote gave Jair Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party the largest bench, with 121 seats.
The results arrived together and point in different directions, which is why careful reading matters. For readers following how political representation for transgender people develops around the world, our transgender history and education hub gives the longer context.
Who are the three trans deputies Brazil just elected?
They are Erika Hilton, Duda Salabert, and Thabatta Pimenta, all elected to the Chamber of Deputies on October 4.
According to the Brasil de Fato report, “Antra celebra conquista de sete candidaturas trans eleitas para parlamentos”, Hilton and Salabert, both of the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL), were re-elected, and Pimenta is the newly elected third. The same report counts four more trans candidates elected to state assemblies, for seven in all out of 116 who ran. The Chamber has 513 members, so the three deputies hold well under one percent of its seats.
Hilton, of São Paulo, was re-elected with nearly 1.6 million votes and became the woman with the most votes in Chamber of Deputies history, according to a Brasil de Fato report on her re-election.
Who is Thabatta Pimenta?
Pimenta is a Natal city councilwoman who took Rio Grande do Norte’s eighth and final seat in the Chamber.
The Tribuna do Norte’s Rio Grande do Norte delegation report lists her with the Green Party (PV) and 92,743 votes, eighth of the state’s eight winners. According to the Tribuna do Norte profile of Thabatta Pimenta, she is from Carnaúba dos Dantas in the Seridó region, was elected to that town’s council in 2020, ran for federal deputy in 2022 without winning, and was elected to the Natal council in 2024 as that city’s first trans councilwoman. She focuses on LGBTQIA+ rights and disability inclusion; reports say she cares for her brother, who has a disability, after her mother died of COVID-19.
Her own reaction, as translated in the O Tempo report on her election, was: “The people rose, and today elected the first trans federal deputy of northeastern Brazil.” Reports describe her as the first trans woman elected to federal office in the northeast.
What else did the election decide?
It gave Jair Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party the largest bench in the Chamber and sent the presidential race to a runoff.
The Chamber of Deputies news portal, “PL sai na frente na eleição da Câmara dos Deputados, com 121 eleitos,” reports that the PL won 121 seats, an increase of 24 from 2022, while the federation of the Workers’ Party (PT), PCdoB and the Green Party won 82, a decrease of six. The portal also reports a renewal rate of 38.7 percent and a re-election rate of 58.6 percent. The new legislature begins on February 1, 2027.
In the presidential race, no candidate passed 50 percent. The Rio Times first-round results report says Flávio Bolsonaro of the PL had 47.04 percent of valid votes and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the PT had 45.15 percent, with 99.96 percent of polling stations reporting. The two meet in a runoff on October 25, 2026.
Pimenta’s home state shows how mixed a single delegation can be. The Tribuna do Norte’s Rio Grande do Norte delegation report lists eight winners in Rio Grande do Norte: three from the PL, three from the PT-led federation (one from the PT and two from the PV, including Pimenta), and one each from the União and PP parties, with five incumbents re-elected and three newcomers. Pimenta’s 92,743 votes were the fewest among the eight winners, which means she won the last available seat.
How do supporters and critics read the results?
The same returns support more than one reading, and the sources reviewed here mostly report results rather than argue them.
ANTRA, the national association of travestis and transsexuals, framed its outcome positively. “We expanded our presence with extremely expressive votes and gave a fine response to transphobia,” the group said, as translated from Portuguese in Brasil de Fato’s report. Those who favor a more conservative direction can point to the larger PL bench and the first-round lead of its presidential candidate as evidence of where the national vote moved. Neither reading settles what the new Chamber will pass, and none of the reports reviewed for this article describe the three deputies’ legislative plans in detail.
Representation and policy are separate questions in any country. For a comparison of how legal gender recognition has played out elsewhere, see our report on Bulgaria’s supreme court and legal gender recognition. For a look at a domestic debate over messaging and policy, see our report on how Democrats are divided over transgender policy before the midterms.
What is the backdrop for trans people in Brazil?
Violence remains a central concern: ANTRA counted 80 trans people killed in Brazil in 2025.
According to the Agência Brasil report on ANTRA’s 2025 data, that is a 34 percent decrease from 122 murders in 2024, and Brazil still ranks first among nations with the most killings of trans people, a position it has held for nearly 18 years. The same report says ANTRA noted a surge in attempted homicides, which suggests the decline does not necessarily reflect less violence overall. Election results do not change these figures, and the reports reviewed do not link the two.
What happens next?
Brazil votes again on October 25 for president, and the new deputies are scheduled to take their seats on February 1, 2027.
The runoff will decide the presidency, while the Chamber’s composition is already set, subject to the official final tally. Readers who want policy context for each country’s handling of these questions can start with our politics and public policy guide. This article reports information from the sources cited and is not legal or political advice.
Frequently asked questions
Who are the three transgender deputies in Brazil’s new Chamber?
Erika Hilton of São Paulo and Duda Salabert of Minas Gerais were re-elected, and Thabatta Pimenta of Rio Grande do Norte was newly elected, according to Brasil de Fato’s report on ANTRA’s count.
What did Thabatta Pimenta’s election make her?
Reports describe her as the first trans woman elected to federal office in Brazil’s northeast. She won the state’s eighth and last seat with 92,743 votes, according to Tribuna do Norte.
Which party won the most seats in the Chamber of Deputies?
The Liberal Party (PL) won 121 seats, 24 more than in 2022, according to the Chamber of Deputies’ own news portal.
Who won the presidential first round?
No candidate passed 50 percent. Flávio Bolsonaro had 47.04 percent and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva 45.15 percent, with 99.96 percent of polling stations reporting, per the Rio Times. They meet in a runoff on October 25.
How many trans candidates were elected across Brazil?
ANTRA, Brazil’s national association of travestis and transsexuals, counted seven trans candidates elected out of 116 who ran: three to the Chamber of Deputies and four to state assemblies.
When do the new deputies take office?
The new legislature begins on February 1, 2027, according to the Chamber of Deputies’ news portal.