Duda Salabert

Duda Salabert Rosa is a Brazilian politician, environmentalist, and teacher. In 2020, she became the first transgender person to serve on the city council of Belo Horizonte after campaigning as a Democratic Labour Party candidate. She was elected with over 37,000 votes, more than any city council candidate in the history of Minas Gerais at the time.

Since 2023, she has represented the state of Minas Gerais as a federal deputy.

Personal life Salabert began working as a teacher in 2002. She cofounded Transvest, a non-governmental organization focused on fighting transphobia.

Duda is a lesbian, married to Raíssa. In 2019, they had a child and chose a gender-neutral name for them.

Duda is vegan.

In 2025, Salabert announced that she had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and giftedness. The deputy reported that the diagnostic investigation took place through a neuropsychological evaluation, after years of dealing with depressive episodes.

Political activity In 2018, Salabert campaigned as a Socialism and Liberty Party candidate to represent the state of Minas Gerais in the Brazilian Senate. Salabert said that she had received invitations to campaign for other offices but chose the Senate as a form of provocation, noting that the etymology of the term senate relates to men and that "if it is a space made for gentlemen, a travesti woman seeking this space is extremely provocative". She additionally stated that she had been targeted on social media and that she feared escalation to physical violence. She was 36 years old at the time. Salabert received more than 350,000 votes,

In April 2019, Salabert left the Socialism and Liberty Party, criticizing the party for "structural transphobia" and anthropocentrism.

In 2020, Salabert was elected to the city council of Belo Horizonte after campaigning as a member of the Democratic Labour Party. She was the first transgender person elected to the Belo Horizonte city council, and with 37,000 votes in support, the most-voted-for city council candidate in Minas Gerais history at the time.

On March 31, 2026, she announced that she would leave the Democratic Labour Party and return to the Socialism and Liberty.