The president of the Brazilian Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals (Antra), Keila Simpson, 57, was stopped at the Mexico City airport, where she was going to participate in the World Social Forum as a speaker, and deported to Brazil. The case took place this Sunday (1st).
According to the association, she had the necessary documents to enter the country and the decision was motivated by transphobia.
On Sunday itself, a Mexican activist filed a request for a precautionary measure with the country’s Human Rights Secretariat for the deportation to be reviewed, but, according to Antra, there was no time to obtain a response, as Simpson was sent back to Brazil. less than 10 hours after arrival.
The association claims that she was incommunicado during that time, because her two cell phones were withheld, and that she had no right of defense.
The activist was part of the Abong (Brazilian Association of Non-Governmental Organizations) delegation at the forum, made up of 20 people. She is the only transvestite in the group and was the only one stopped at the airport — the others had arrived in Mexico the day before.
THE Sheet asked the Mexican embassy and Itamaraty for a position on the case, which was also contacted by Antra, but received no answers until the publication of this report.
Back in Brazil this Monday (2), Simpson said that he did not suffer violence when approached by the Mexican guards, but that he was treated differently from other travelers. It was clear to her that the motivation for her deportation was transphobic.
“Every transvestite knows when they are being discriminated against because of their condition. [para pessoas barradas na entrada] I knew I would be deported for being a transvestite. And there was no other, “she says.
She says she had a valid passport, electronic visa, immigration card and reservations for round-trip tickets, but the agents made it difficult, asking her to show the printed return ticket, for example. “I explained that I would be back in six days and that I could only check in 48 hours in advance, so I didn’t have the printed ticket. I showed the printout with the reservations of all the segments, but my explanations were not successful”, he says. Is it over there.
An activist for more than 20 years, Simpson has made several other international trips, including to Mexico, and has never been barred.
According to Bruna Benevides, secretary of political articulation at Antra, discrimination against trans people at airports is commonplace, especially when they have documents with their baptismal name – Simpson’s case.
“I myself was selected for the ‘random search’ 100% of the time I traveled. A male agent was already appointed to search me, I refused. After I corrected my name in the documents, everything changed”, says Benevides. “It’s institutional transphobia. Often it won’t be said clearly, but they’ll look for excuses to justify a previous mistrust. Keila was automatically considered suspicious, even though she presented the same documents as the rest of the delegation.”
The right to change sex in the civil registry without the need for surgery, medical and psychological evaluation or judicial authorization was defined by a 2018 ruling by the Federal Supreme Court (STF).
But Antra estimates that at least 70% of the Brazilian trans population has not corrected the name in the documents. “Respect for the rights of trans people cannot be conditioned to rectification. Also because it is a recent right, still in the consolidation phase, which has a cost, involves administrative obstacles”, says Benevides.
According to her, the association will seek remedial measures. “We want the State of Mexico to recognize that there has been a violation of the fundamental right to gender identity and to implement a protocol for serving trans travelers. And also for her deportation to be annulled, as it has implications even for her returning to the country. “
