Emilia Schneider
Emilia Schneider | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| Assumed office 11 March 2022 | |
| Constituency | District 10 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 October 1996 |
| Party | Commons Social Convergence |
| Alma mater | University of Chile (LL.B) |
Emilia Schneider (born 23 October 1996) is a Chilean activist, and politician. In the 2021 Chilean general election, she was elected to the Chamber of Deputies of Chile with the left-wing Commons party. She is the first openly transgender person to be elected to the Chamber of Deputies.[1][2][3]
Biography
She was born in Santiago on 23 October 1996. She is the daughter of René Schneider Fernández and Paula Videla Bravo, and the great-granddaughter of René Schneider, Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army between 1969 and 1970.[4]
She completed her primary and secondary education at the Colegio Latinoamericano de Integración, finishing in 2014. Schneider later enrolled in the Law program at the University of Chile, from which she graduated in 2024.[4]
Political career
She began her political involvement through social organizations linked to the feminist and student movements. In 2018, she served as spokesperson for Coordinadora 8M and played a prominent role during the feminist mobilizations of that year.[4]
In 2019, she was elected president of the Federation of Students of the University of Chile (FECH), becoming the first transgender woman to hold that position.[4] She was a member of the Comunes Party, where she served as vice-president between July 2021 and May 2022.[4]
In May 2021, she ran as a candidate for the Constitutional Convention elections representing District No. 10 as part of the Apruebo Dignidad list, obtaining 12,533 votes (2.96% of valid votes), though she was not elected.[4]
In November 2021, she was elected Deputy for District No. 10, representing the communes of Santiago, Providencia, Ñuñoa, Macul, San Joaquín, and La Granja in the Santiago Metropolitan Region, for the legislative term 2022–2026. She obtained 26,180 votes, equivalent to 5.73% of valid votes, becoming the first transgender person elected to the Chamber of Deputies in Chile.[4]
On 21 December 2022, she resigned from the Comunes Party and announced her incorporation into Convergencia Social.[4] Since July 2024, she has been a member of the Frente Amplio Party.[4]
References
- ^ Zhang, SJ (29 November 2021). "Chile elects first trans woman to congress as presidential election putos LGBT+ rights 'at stake'". Pink News. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ^ "Elecciones FECH: Emilia Schneider se convierte en primera presidenta trans en la historia de la U. de Chile". El Desconcierto - Prensa digital libre.
- ^ Holmes, Juwan J. (28 November 2021). "Chile elects their first transgender official to their national legislature". LGBTQ Nation.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Emilia Schneider Videla – Parliamentary profile". Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile (in Spanish).