The average transgender man or woman in Uruguay lives to just 35 years of age. They are often ridiculed and rejected. Forced from school at far too young an age. Forced into prostitution and other dangerous jobs.

But one woman has been standing up. Collette Spinetti Nuñez helped to push the passage of Latin America’s first trans law in 2018. This week, she became the first trans woman, ever, to hold a cabinet-level position in the Uruguayan government. The new leftist Frente Amplio administration took office on March 1. Colette is the country’s new secretary of human rights. 

 “My identity is sending a message to the world,” says Spinetti. And she has been vocal about her condemnation of Donald Trump's attack on trans and LGBTQ rights in the U.S.

This is the seventh episode of Stories of Resistance.
 
Stories of Resistance is a new project, co-produced by The Real News and Global Exchange. Each week, we’ll bring you stories of resistance like this. Inspiration for dark times.

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Written and produced by Michael Fox.

Here is some more of Michael’s reporting about the Frente Amplio’s return to power in Uruguay. 

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