Benedita Souza da Silva Sampaio (, born 26 April 1942) is a Brazilian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. From a humble background, she faced class and

racial prejudice Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

, overcoming it to become the first

female Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females an ...

and

Afro-Brazilian Afro-Brazilians ( pt, afro-brasileiros; ) are Brazilians who have predominantly African ancestry (see " preto"). Most members of another group of people, multiracial Brazilians or ''pardos'', may also have a range of degree of African ancestry. ...

governor of the

State of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil. It has the second largest economy of Brazil, with the largest being that of the state of São Paulo. The state, which has 8.2% of the Brazilian population, is responsible for 9.2% o ...

and, later, Minister of the said Secretary of State as well in the Government of

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Party, ...

Origin

Benedita Souza da Silva Sampaio was born on 26 April 1942 in Praia do Pinto,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, to Ovídia da Silva and is one her mother's 13 children. Benedita da Silva is also known as Bene.

Background

According to Da Silva, her mother's matriarchal tendencies have profoundly influenced her development. She grew up in the

favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of working-class neighborhoods in Brazil. The term was first used in the Providência neighborhood in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was built by soldiers who ha ...

of Chapéu Mangueira in Copacabana. Da Silva was raped at the age of seven. She had several miscarriages and a baby that died soon after birth. At 16 she started working with the community school of the Chapéu Mangueira

where she established a women's association and a women's branch of the Rio de Janeiro Federation of Favelas. She worked as a

nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ca ...

aide and studied Social Studies. At the age of 40, Da Silva received her high-school diploma. She attended college at the same time as her 20-year-old daughter. During this period she also married a man named Manshino. After Manshino's death, Da Silva became involved in community service, where she met her second husband Bola. Bola inspired her politically and coordinated her campaign, which resulted in Da Silva's historic election as the first Workers' Party governor in Rio. Five years later, Da Silva became a widow for the second time. She would later meet her new husband, the actor Pitanga, as she campaigned for as a senator candidate. These relationships and the dynamics of Brazilian life combined with her activism propelled Da Silva to political prominence and controversy. She did so at a time when both women and

black people Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...

were not visible in Brazil's political process. Neither the loss of two husbands nor the hostility of the Brazilian press deterred her politically.

Current

Today, she is an advocate of

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

both in Brazil and Latin America.

Egalitarianism Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hum ...

is her goal, not just for her constituents but to persons everywhere who are adversely affected by prejudice and poverty. According to Da Silva, "Racial democracy only exists in school books and official speeches; the elite in Brazil have promoted the myth of racial harmony to make people accept certain forms of discrimination and to deny the need for affirmative action." As a member of the

African diaspora The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa, predominantly in the Americas. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the West and Central Africans who were ...

which came to the Americas as a result of the Maafa, and which stills suffer discrimination around the world based in the social relations constructed thereafter, Mrs Da Silva through her career is a figure who reinforces the benefits of full citizenship for racial minorities in Latin America.

Political career

* 1982 - Elected city councilor of Rio de Janeiro for the Worker's Party. * 1986 - Elected to the National Congress; fought to make amendments to the

Brazilian Constitution The Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil) is the supreme law of Brazil. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of Brazil and the feder ...

on racial crimes, 120 days maternity leave, prohibition of difference of wages, and right of the prison inmates to breast-feed their children. * 1994 - Elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the ...

, becoming the first female senator in Brazil. * 1998 - Became Vice-Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro on the Anthony Garotinho ticket. * 2002 - With Governor Anthony Garotinho resigning to run for president, Da Silva assumes the Governorship of the State of Rio de Janeiro, becoming the first woman and the first black person to occupy the office. * 2003 - Leaving the State government, Silva takes the post of Social Action Secretary, where she remains until January 2004. * 2006 - Assumed the general coordination of the campaign of re-election of current president

in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Some periodicals speculated that, she would run for mayor of the City of Rio de Janeiro in 2008. It didn't happen. Frentes Parlamentares

Benedita da Silva's journey to political leadership alone is enough to make a statement regarding her character and determination. Da Silva'
biography
"Benedita da Silva: An

woman's story of politics and love", tells, through a collection of interviews, of her hardships and successes while conveying her message to members of her audience. Through the novel, da Silva is able to impact its readers while also bringing to light the many issues that a prominent in Brazil, particularly in the Brazilian

Favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of working-class neighborhoods in Brazil. The term was first used in the Providência neighborhood in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was built by soldiers who ha ...

s. She exposes prominent and controversial issues such as

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregnan ...

, poverty, rape and sexual abuse, and inequality that plagued her personally. Da Silva's background and personal reputation as “three times a minority” (black, poor, and woman), she says gives her a perspective into the lives of her electorate. Her struggles and ethnicity make her relatable to the citizens in which she has leadership over. This type of advantage makes for a more insightful, diverse, and conscientious political leader. She is a devout

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

and draws much of her ideology from the progressive wing of the Pentecostal movement in Brazil. She describes herself as a "PTcostal."

Origin

Background

Current

Political career

References

See also