Maria das Graças Carvalho Dantas (born 21 May 1969), known as Maria Dantas, is a

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian- Spanish activist and politician who had served as

Member of the Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. It has 350 members elect ...

of Spain.

Early life

Dantas was born on 21 May 1969 in Aracaju in north-eastern

. She is the daughter of a merchant and a nurse. She has a degree in law from the

Federal University of Sergipe The Federal University of Sergipe ( pt, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, UFS) is a Brazilian public institution based in Sergipe, with campuses in São Cristóvão, Aracaju, Itabaiana, Laranjeiras, and Lagarto. Founded in 1967 by the junction ...

. 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

Sergipe Sergipe (), officially State of Sergipe, is a state of Brazil. Located in the Northeast Region along the Atlantic coast of the country, Sergipe is the smallest state in Brazil by geographical area at , larger only than the Federal District. Serg ...

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 A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

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 i ...

Spanish citizen. Soon after arriving in Spain Dantas became an activist against

xenophobia Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

racism 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 ...

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

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 President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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 An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political party, political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand ...

candidate in the

Province of Barcelona Barcelona (, ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is .Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, Palace of the Parliament () in Ma ...

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)