Brazil’s Minister of Racial Equality as one of Time’s Women of the Year

Brazil’s Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco, was chosen on Thursday by the American magazine Time as one of the 12 women of the year 2023.

Anielle Franco is the sister of activist and former councilor Marielle Franco, who was killed in an ambush in 2018 after taking part in a political event involving women in downtown Rio de Janeiro, a violent crime that has not yet been fully clarified and that shocked Brazil ..

On social media, the Brazilian minister commented: “Very proud and moved to be the first and only Brazilian nominated as ‘Woman of the Year’ among twelve chosen by North American Time magazine. I am very happy and I am not alone, this recognition is not only mine , it belongs to all black women in Brazil”.

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“I am the first, but I will not be the only one. May this milestone be a restart for our history and a recognition of all our struggles,” she added.

In a profile about his life and political activities, the magazine quotes that Anielle Franco had no intention of working in the public sector, but the search for justice for her sister’s death led her to fame in Brazil and around the world.

The magazine highlighted that before taking office, the Brazilian minister “dedicated herself full-time to activism and set up a non-profit organization in her sister’s name, at a time when far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, elected in late 2018, was pushing for the human rights agenda in Brazil”.

Her tragic family history, warm personality and deft use of social media transformed the once reserved [Anielle] Franco an unlikely leader in Brazil’s black rights movement,” Time added.

Anielle Franco took office in January as Minister of Racial Equality, appointed by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who defeated former President Jair Bolsonaro in last October’s elections.

In a country marked by racism and inequality, your job is to ensure that the ministers and legislators of Lula da Silva’s government keep their pledge of equality for black and mulatto Brazilians, who make up 56% of the population, and the country’s indigenous and Asian minorities.