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

Early life

Dantas was born on 21 May 1969 in Aracaju in north-eastern Brazil. She is the daughter of a merchant and a nurse. She has a degree in law from the Federal University of Sergipe. She was a student of

Carlos Ayres Britto Carlos Augusto Ayres de Freitas Britto (born November 18, 1942, in Propriá, Sergipe) is a Brazilian jurist and was a Justice of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil. He was appointed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and served from June ...

at the university. Dantas worked as a deputy delegate for the

civil police In Brazil, the Civilian Police ( pt, Polícia Civil) is the name of the investigative state police forces. The Civilian Police are agencies of the public administration of the states and of the Federal District of Brazil, whose function is, i ...

in Sergipe.

Career

Dantas migrated to Spain in 1994 in order to study environmental law. She was an

undocumented migrant Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...

and worked in various jobs over 15 years – as a maid, nanny, old age carer, dog walker, waitress and Portuguese teacher. She would clean toilets after attending doctorate classes. She later worked as an administrative assistant for a finance company. She is a

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

Spanish citizen. Soon after arriving in Spain Dantas became an activist against xenophobia, racism, fascism and

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

and supporting immigration and human rights. 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). Her activism has led to death threats from supporters of Brazil's

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

president

Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and retired military officer who has been the 38th president of Brazil since 1 January 2019. He was elected in 2018 as a member of the Social Liberal Party, which he turn ...

. 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.

Personal life

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

Electoral history

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dantas, Maria 1969 births Activists from Catalonia Women politicians from Catalonia Brazilian emigrants to Spain Federal University of Sergipe alumni Living people Members of the 13th Congress of Deputies (Spain) People from Aracaju Republican Left of Catalonia politicians Women members of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Members of the 14th Congress of Deputies (Spain)