Luciana Novaes

Luciana Gonçalves de Novaes (5 June 1983 – 27 April 2026) was a Brazilian social worker and politician affiliated with the Workers' Party (PT) who was elected three times as a city councillor in Rio de Janeiro; she was known for her legislative work on behalf of people with disabilities (PWDs).

Background Born in Nilópolis in the Baixada Fluminense region of Rio de Janeiro, at the age of 19, while studying nursing at Estácio de Sá University, on the Rio Comprido campus in downtown Rio de Janeiro, on 5 May 2003, she was struck in the face by a stray bullet during a break between classes; the bullet hit her jaw and destroyed the third vertebra of her spine, leaving her tetraplegic and dependent on mechanical ventilation.

Doctors told the family that she had a 1% chance of survival and that she would probably never leave hospital. She spent 21 months in hospital following the tragedy, 18 of which were in the intensive care unit (ICU). She underwent seven operations. Estácio de Sá University was ordered by the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice to pay Luciana and her family compensation amounting to 600,000 reais.

Novaes returned to school five years later, in 2008, and earned her bachelor’s degree in Social Work in 2012. She also completed a master’s degree in Public Administration.

Her case was the subject of an episode of TV Globo’s true crime show Linha Direta, titled Above Suspicion, which explored the uncertainty surrounding who fired the shot that wounded her. which were insufficient for her to be elected. In 2014, she stood as a candidate for the state legislature, receiving 10,918 votes, once again insufficient for her election. The following year, in 2013, she began working at the General Coordination Office for Human Rights, a department within the Municipal Secretariat for Social Development of the City of Rio de Janeiro. She was the city’s first councillor with paraplegia. To enable her to carry out her duties, Municipal Chamber of Rio de Janeiro had to carry out accessibility works, such as installing ramps to allow the new councillor and her wheelchair to access the building. During her first term, she helped draft 115 bills, of which 51 were passed. In 2022, she stood as a candidate for the federal Chamber of Deputies. She was subjected to sexual harassment whilst campaigning in the city of Niterói. She received 31,052 votes, which were insufficient for her to be elected. In 2024, she stood for election to the City Council again, receiving 11,994 votes and becoming the first substitute for the coalition comprising the PT, the Green Party (PV) and the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB). When Councillor Tainá de Paula moved to the Municipal Department of the Environment, she was called upon to fill the vacancy.

Luciana Novaes served as chair of the Chamber’s Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and was the author of several laws in this field, such as Law 8 781/2025, which establishes Rio’s Municipal Policy on Accessible Routes to facilitate travel for people with disabilities, those with reduced mobility, and the elderly. Her work also extended to the state level, having contributed to a report used by the in a Public Civil Action against SuperVia, with the aim of carrying out accessibility works at train stations in the metropolitan area.

Personal life and death Luciana was the youngest of four siblings, the daughter of a retired bus driver and a retired school cook from Nilópolis, a town in the Baixada Fluminense region.

On 27 April 2026, Luciana Novaes died following a intracranial aneurysm, having been admitted in December 2025 due to health complications.

The Mayor of Rio, Eduardo Cavaliere (PSD), declared three days of official mourning. Her death was mourned by the president of the Rio de Janeiro City Council, Councilman Carlo Caiado (PSD), as well as politicians Marcelo Freixo (PT), Benedita da Silva (PT), Tarcísio Motta (PSOL), and Eduardo Paes (PSD), André Ceciliano (PT), Cesar Maia (PSD) and YouTuber Felipe Neto.

Electoral performance