Last Tuesday night (29/07) the LGBT electoral commission of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), run by candidate Geraldo Alckmin, was launched. The collective was organized and created by DJ and cultural producer André Pomba and sociologist João Athaide.
Before the start of the group's first meeting, André Pomba and João Athaide explained to the The Cape how it will work. "The idea is to put together a government plan for Alckmin. When designing this plenary we came to the conclusion that it is necessary to take a step beyond health and shutdown issues, a step forward", explains Pomba.
João explains that the focus of their project is education, "transvestites in general do not have support in education. So our project goes precisely there: at one end you work on professionalization and, on the other, with literacy." Regarding education, Pomba says that attention must be paid to the issue, "today what is most urgent is the issue of education and also professionalization. Normally, low-income gay people are discriminated against at school and drop out. What can we say about transvestites?" he asks.
The meeting started at around 18:30 pm and ended at 20 pm. During the meeting Pomba and Athaide clarified to those present that this was a first meeting, that there would be others and people could bring ideas. The topics dealt with transvestites, LGBT addicts and showing voters that the project aims to complement what is positive in the current administration. Consensus in the group was that public policies aimed at the gay community are still very concentrated in the central region and, as João said, "it is necessary to take the Reference Centers to the outskirts of São Paulo".
Among those present was Fátima, who defined herself as bisexual and said she has been a member of the PSDB since 1999. For her, it is necessary to think about "how to get the proposals from the municipal and state conferences off the ground." "We also have to fight for LGBT policies to become public policy," she said. At the end of the meeting, CADS – Coordination of Sexual Diversity Affairs – was on the agenda and André Pomba concluded by saying that the body is the best experience in LGBT public policy in Brazil. "So much so that it started with a small room and now occupies an entire floor. So, it's an experience that has to be expanded." The group will hold more meetings until Alckmin's LGBT government plan is finalized.
If you are interested in participating in the group, or gathering more information, you can contact the organizer of the André Pomba group by email: andrepomba@uol.com.br
