Maria Dantas

Maria das Graças Carvalho Dantas (born 21 May 1969), known as Maria Dantas, is a Brazilian-Spanish activist and politician who serves as Member of the Congress of Deputies of Spain.

Excelentísima Señora
Maria Dantas
MP
Member of the Congress of Deputies
Assumed office
16 May 2019
ConstituencyBarcelona
Personal details
Born
Maria das Graças Carvalho Dantas

(1969-05-21) 21 May 1969
Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil
Political partyRepublican Left of Catalonia
Other political
affiliations		Republican Left of Catalonia–Sovereigntists
Alma mater

Early life

Dantas was born on 21 May 1969 in Aracaju in north-eastern Brazil.[1][2] She is the daughter of a merchant and a nurse.[2][3] She has a degree in law from the Federal University of Sergipe.[3][4] She was a student of Carlos Ayres Britto at the university.[5]

Dantas worked as a deputy delegate for the civil police in Sergipe.[2][6]

Career

Dantas migrated to Spain in 1994 in order to study environmental law.[2][6] She was an undocumented migrant and worked in various jobs over 15 years – as a maid, nanny, old age carer, dog walker, waitress and Portuguese teacher.[2][6] She would clean toilets after attending doctorate classes.[2][3] She later worked as an administrative assistant for a finance company.[7] She is a naturalised Spanish citizen.[3][8]

Soon after arriving in Spain Dantas became an activist against xenophobia, racism, fascism and homophobia and supporting immigration and human rights.[4] She is a member of Unity Against Fascism and Racism (Unitat Contra el Feixisme i el Racisme) and is a member of the boards of Centre Internacional Escarré per a les Minories Ètniques i Nacionals (CIEMEN) and Confederació d’Associacions Veïnals de Catalunya (CONFAVC).[9] Her activism has led to death threats from supporters of Brazil's far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.[4]

Dantas contested the 2019 general election as a Republican Left of Catalonia–Sovereigntists electoral alliance candidate in the Province of Barcelona and was elected to the Congress of Deputies.[10][11]

Personal life

Dantas has a son, Thiago Lee, from a marriage when she was living in Brazil.[12] She also has two daughters born in Barcelona, Victoria and Natalia, from a second relationship to a Brazilian.[6][12]

Electoral history
Electoral history of Maria Dantas
Election Constituency Party Alliance No. Result
2019 general[10][11]Province of BarcelonaRepublican Left of CataloniaRepublican Left of Catalonia–Sovereigntists5Elected

References
  1. "Members: XIII Legislatura ( 2019-Actualidad) - Carvalho Dantas, María" (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain: Congress of Deputies. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  2. "Sergipana é eleita deputada no Parlamento espanhol". O Globo (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  3. "Maria Dantas: primeira brasileira eleita para o Parlamento Espanhol". Uirauna.net (in Portuguese). Uirauna, Brazil. 5 May 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  4. Calixto, Bruno (16 May 2019). "A sergipana que virou deputada na Espanha". Época (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  5. Barreto, Leonardo (30 April 2019). ""Eu sou o que sou e devo a minha terra, as minhas raízes", diz sergipana eleita na Europa". FAN F1 (in Portuguese). Aracaju, Brazil. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  6. "María Carvalho Dantas, la primera brasileña en llegar al Congreso español". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. EFE. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  7. "Sergipana se elege deputada na Espanha por partido a favor da Catalunha independente". Hora News (in Portuguese). 29 April 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  8. "Lei da imigração é 'assassina', diz brasileira eleita para o parlamento espanhol". Rede Brasil Atual (in Portuguese). São Paulo, Brazil. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  9. "Va de Llibertat: Maria das Graças Carvalho Dantas" (in Catalan). Barcelona, Spain: Republican Left of Catalonia. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  10. "Otras Disposiciones: Junta Electoral Central – Elecciones generales. Proclamación de candidaturas" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). No. 79. Madrid, Spain: Government of Spain. 2 April 2019. p. 34228. ISSN 0212-033X. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  11. "Otras Disposiciones: Junta Electoral Central – Elecciones generales. Resultados" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). No. 129. Madrid, Spain: Government of Spain. 30 May 2019. p. 57375. ISSN 0212-033X. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  12. "Filha de comerciante e enfermeira é a 1ª brasileira no Parlamento espanhol". Aracaju News / O Globo (in Portuguese). Aracaju, Brazil. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.

Maria Dantas on Twitter

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