Maria do Rosário Nunes (born 22 November 1966) is a Brazilian teacher and politician. She graduated in

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

from the

Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul The Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul ( pt, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, UFRGS) is a Brazilian public federal research university based in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. UFRGS is among the largest and highest-rated univers ...

, and took a

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

degree at the

University of São Paulo The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the best ...

. From 2011 to 2014, she served as the Secretary for Human Rights under the Rousseff administration. With the exception of her three-year tenure as Human Rights Secretary, she has been a congresswoman since 2003, representing the southern Brazilian state of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...

as a member of the

Worker's Party (Brazil) The Workers' Party ( pt-BR, Partido dos Trabalhadores, PT) is a centre-left to left-wing political party in Brazil. Some scholars classify its ideology in the 21st century as social democracy, with the party shifting from a broadly socialist id ...

Early life and education

Maria do Rosário Nunes was born on 22 November 1966 in the municipality of

Veranópolis Veranópolis is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. As of 2020, the estimated population was 26,533. Veranópolis, like most of its neighbouring towns, is known as one of the cities with highest standards of living in Brazi ...

. In her youth she was an active member of the student movement."Secretaria de Direitos Humanos da Presidência da República - Maria do Rosário"
Portal Brasil. 8 December 2010. Later, as a teacher in public schools, Maria do Rosário became active in the

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

movement. A graduate teacher, she took a postgraduate degree in

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

at the Laboratory for Child Studies of the

Career

Maria do Rosário was elected, as a member of the

Communist Party of Brazil The Communist Party of Brazil ( pt-BR, Partido Comunista do Brasil, PCdoB) is a political party in Brazil. The PCdoB officially adheres to Marxist–Leninist theory. It has national reach and deep penetration in the trade union and student m ...

, to the

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...

City Council for the 1993-1996 term with 7,555 votes. The year after her inauguration, she switched to the Workers' Party. In 1996 she was re-elected with over 20,000 votes, the top-voted councillor that year. During her two terms as councilwoman, Maria do Rosário acted as president of the education and human rights committees. Her second term at the Porto Alegre City Council was interrupted when she was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Sul with over 77,000 votes in 1998. That year, she became the second top voted state deputy of Rio Grande do Sul. As a state deputy, she acted as chairwoman of the citizenship and human rights committee and vice-president of the Legislative Assembly for two years. At the next election Maria do Rosário was elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

with over 140,000 votes. She was re-elected in 2006 with 110,000 votes. In the National Congress she served as the rapporteur of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry which investigated people responsible for

sexual exploitation of children Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a commercial transaction that involves the sexual exploitation of a child, or person under the age of consent. CSEC involves a range of abuses, including but not limited to: the prostitution of ...

. Maria do Rosário represented the Chamber in the Commission on Political Deaths and Disappearances during the military dictatorship and acted as chairwoman of the Special Committee for the Adoption Bill. In 2003 she became coordinator of the Parliamentary Front in Defense of Children's Rights, in addition to serving as vice-chairwoman of the human rights and education committees. In 2009 she was the chairwoman of the education committee, having coordinated a series of debates about the new National Education Plan, which sets the goals for the area for the period from 2011 to 2020. In 2004 Maria do Rosário was an unsuccessful candidate for deputy mayor on the ticket headed by fellow party member Raul Pont. In 2008 she was a mayoral candidate, losing to incumbent mayor

José Fogaça José Alberto Fogaça de Medeiros (born 1947) is a Brazilian politician who has been the Mayor of Porto Alegre, Brazil, a state deputy, federal deputy and senator. He is a graduate of the Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul and taught at t ...

. She was the Workers' Party's vice-president from 2005 to 2007. She was re-elected for a third term in 2010, after resolving legal issues relating to her 2008 campaign. Ogliari, Elder
"Justiça barra candidatura de Maria do Rosário no RS"
''

Estadão ''O Estado de S. Paulo'' (; ), also known as ''Estadão'' (; ), is a daily newspaper published in São Paulo, Brazil. It is the third largest newspaper in Brazil, and its format changed from broadsheet to berliner on October 17, 2021. It has ...

''. 3 August 2010. On 8 December 2010 President-elect

Dilma Rousseff Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil, holding the position from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the first w ...

appointed Maria do Rosário to succeed Paulo Vannuchi as head of the Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic for Human Rights, a ministerial-level cabinet office. Although she did not indicate priorities, the press points the battle against

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 the establishment of truth and reconciliation commissions to investigate the crimes perpetrated by public office holders during the

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...

among her top priorities. Agência Estado
"Maria do Rosário herda briga com Nelson Jobim"
''Estadão''. 19 de dezembro de 2010. She was also expected to work for the Brazilian government to fulfill the verdict of the

Inter-American Court of Human Rights The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR or IACtHR) is an international court based in San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it was formed by the American Convention on Human Rights, a huma ...

against the country's amnesty law.

References

External links

*
Page at the Chamber of Deputies website
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosario, Maria do 1966 births Living people Brazilian women in politics Brazilian LGBT rights activists University of São Paulo alumni Communist Party of Brazil politicians Workers' Party (Brazil) politicians Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul alumni Members of the Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Sul People from Rio Grande do Sul Brazilian feminists