XVII Congress of the Brazilian Studies Association

The trajectory of citizenship rights for the LGBT population in Brazil (1988-2023)

• In Event: Fight(s) for Citizenship Rights in Brazil: Race and Gender I

Abstract

The struggle to recognize citizenship rights for LGBT+ people is a contemporary phenomenon, part of the new social movements that emerged in the United States and Western Europe between 1950 and 1960. In this field, the Stonewall Uprising (USA) in 1969 became a symbolic act against the repression of sexual freedoms, inspiring other movements in Latin America. Brazil began with the formation of political groups, activist media, and militant events at the end of the 1970s during the gradual political opening. Historically, the Federal Constitution of 1988 represented the resumption of the democratic State after the end of the military regime established in 1964. In this course, on the one hand, there were achievements in the field of citizenship rights for the LGBT population due to the struggle of social movements, the influence of political actors, and interactions with public authorities, especially during left-wing governments. On the other hand, it is still premature to talk about progress, especially given the strengthening of right-wing conservatism, whose strategy is based on attacking the agendas of this group. Within this context, the general objective of the article is to analyze the trajectory of citizenship rights for the LGBT population in Brazil, seeking to understand the forms of interaction between social movements and public institutions, as well as their effects on the institutionalization of public policies and guarantee of rights.

Author

• Leonardo Andrade, Brown University