Beatriz Gomes Dias is a Portuguese teacher, activist and politician who was born in Senegal. She was elected as a deputy to the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal, representing the

Left Bloc Left Bloc may refer to: * Left Bloc (Portugal), a political party in Portugal * Left Bloc (Croatia), a political alliance in Croatia * Left Bloc (Hungary) The Left Bloc (in Hungarian: ''Baloldali Blokk'') was a political alliance in Hungary, f ...

, in 2019, but was not re-elected in the 2022 election. In the 2021 local elections, she was elected member of the

Lisbon City Council Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

Early life

Beatriz Gebalina Pereira Gomes Dias was born in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

on 26 March 1971. Although born in Senegal, her ancestry is from

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

. She moved to Portugal with her parents when she was four, her father being a doctor, and they lived in the centre of the Portuguese capital of

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

. She has an undergraduate degree in biology from the Faculty of Sciences of the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coi ...

and a master's degree in Science Communication from the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences of the

NOVA University Lisbon NOVA University Lisbon ( pt, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, ), or just NOVA, is a Portuguese public university whose rectorate is located in Campolide, Lisbon. Founded in 1973, it is the newest of the public universities in the Portuguese capital ...

. She then became a secondary school biology teacher.

Anti-racism activism

As a university student she joined ''SOS Racismo'' in Portugal. In 2016 she founded and became president of the ''Associação de Afrodescendentes'' (Association of Afro-descendants). This association was responsible for proposing the winner of the competition for the Memorial of Homage to Enslaved People, in Lisbon.

Political activities

Gomes Dias became a councillor in the Lisbon parish council of

Arroios Arroios () is a ''freguesia'' (civil parish) and district of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Located in central Lisbon, Arroios is north of Santa Maria Maior and São Vicente, east of Santo António, south of Avenidas Novas and Areeiro, and wes ...

from 2013 to 2019, and then a member of the Lisbon Municipal Assembly from 2018. She was elected as a Deputy in the Assembly of the Republic in the 2019 legislative elections, representing the ''Bloco de Esquerda'' grouping, being one of three women of African and Guinea-Bissau origin to be elected to that Assembly, the others being

Joacine Katar Moreira Joacine Elysees Katar Tavares Moreira (born 27 July 1982) is a Bissau-Guinean-born Portuguese academic, activist and politician. She was elected to the Assembly of the Republic as a member of the Livre party in 2019. However, in early 2020 the ...

and Romualda Fernandes. In the Assembly she has concentrated her activities on combating racism, and on defending the rights of migrant people and their culture. In March 2021, it was announced that she would again be a candidate for the ''Bloco de Esquerda'' in the elections for the Lisbon Municipality. In the January 2022 national elections she was not re-elected, being 4th on the Left Bloc list of candidates for Lisbon, with only two candidates being elected.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dias, Beatriz Gomes 1971 births Living people Portuguese socialists Left Bloc politicians Members of the Assembly of the Republic (Portugal) Women members of the Assembly of the Republic (Portugal) Bissau-Guinean emigrants to Portugal Senegalese people of Bissau-Guinean descent University of Coimbra alumni