Eduarda Campopiano, a state deputy-elect from Brazil’s right-wing Liberal Party (PL), has been reported to the São Paulo State Public Prosecutor’s Office on accusations of transphobia, transphobic insult and gender-based political violence, after a social media post aimed at re-elected federal deputy Erika Hilton.

Eduarda Campopiano, elected to the São Paulo Legislative Assembly for the Liberal Party (LP), faces accusations of transphobia, transphobic insult and political violence based on gender. The legal action was filed with the Public Ministry of the State of São Paulo.

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The complaint was presented by fellow elected legislator Sofia Favero, of the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL), before the Special Group to Combat Racial Crimes and Intolerance. It follows a social media message Campopiano directed at Hilton, who won another term in the Chamber of Deputies.

Text reads: “How does it feel to know that a biological man will never occupy the space of the most voted woman in São Paulo?“

Post Sparks Complaint

The controversy began after election day. Campopiano, a city councilwoman in Praia Grande who is aligned with Flávio Bolsonaro, publicly denied Hilton’s gender identity in a post that has drawn more than three million views. In the text, she attacked the trajectory of the trans lawmaker and questioned her legitimacy in light of the statewide vote results.

The complaint argues that the statements go beyond freedom of expression and amount to a systematic attack on a trans woman in the exercise of a public mandate. It calls for an immediate police investigation into alleged violations of the Penal Code and the Electoral Code, specifically regarding harassment, discrimination and the restriction of political rights on the basis of gender.

The election results add context to the dispute. Campopiano was the most-voted candidate for the São Paulo Legislative Assembly, with 1.9 million votes. Hilton, for her part, won re-election to the Chamber of Deputies with 1.5 million votes, the highest figure ever recorded by a woman for that office in Brazilian history.

Wider Legal Fight

The case is not the only legal action targeting Campopiano. Re-elected deputy Sônia Guajajara announced she will take action before the Federal Prosecutor’s Office over the councilwoman’s earlier verbal attacks on the dignity of native people.

The complaint also arrives against the backdrop of a long struggle over LGBTQ+ rights in Brazil, where street mobilization has driven many of the most important legal advances, often through court rulings. Public pressure that began with the 2006 Pride March in São Paulo against discriminatory violence helped lay the groundwork for the Supreme Federal Court to legally recognize same-sex civil unions in 2011.

In 2019, the high court took another decisive step by equating LGBTphobia with the crime of racism. That grassroots organizing also enabled other legal milestones won through strategic litigation, including legal protection for the identity and rights of trans people and the removal of discriminatory restrictions on blood donation.

Prosecutors have not yet announced whether they will open an investigation into Campopiano’s statements.

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