Amidst celebration and mourning, LGBTQIA+ journeys continue to confront rights violations and reinforce the quest for respect and citizenship.
In Brazil, where violence still permeates and shapes how we live and inhabit the world, celebrating our existence is also an act of collective courage. During June, as we celebrate LGBTQIA+ pride, we reaffirm the strength of our journeys and honor the memory of those whose lives were cut short by violence. Balancing celebration and mourning, we continue to cultivate resistance, preserve legacies, and defend the right to exist with dignity, freedom, and pride.
These principles stem from a collective desire for change. The LGBTQIA+ movement, throughout its history, also has much to teach us.
The Stonewall Uprising, for instance—which took place on June 28, 1969—was a milestone in the fight for the recognition of sexual freedoms and against prejudice. That same year in Brazil, LGBTQIA+ individuals were targeted by the persecution and repression of the military dictatorship. Amidst this context of severe human rights violations and violent crackdowns, gay people, transgender individuals, and sex workers were viewed as threats by defenders of "morals and good customs" and labeled as "deviants."
In our country, operations such as *Rondão* and *Operação Tarântula* (Operation Tarantula) stand as episodes of systematic violence against *travestis* and transgender people. Operation Rondão took place during the military dictatorship (1980–1985), resulting in the detention of approximately 1,500 trans and *travesti* individuals during police "sweeps" in São Paulo; meanwhile, Operation Tarântula was carried out after the dictatorship ended—between February 27 and March 10, 1987—when over 300 *travestis* were arrested and tortured over a ten-day period under the official pretext of "combating AIDS." Led by Police Chief José Wilson Richetti, the true objective of these acts of violence was to eliminate the LGBTQIA+ population from the city of São Paulo.
Both operations represent a continuation of the dictatorial regime's repressive practices even after 1985; today, they are recognized as acts of political persecution and are the subject of calls for collective amnesty and reparations from organizations such as ANTRA and ABGLT.
Violence against LGBTQIA+ individuals also occurred within the federal civil service, as revealed in a report submitted to the National Truth Commission by researchers James Green and Renan Quinalha. A Summary Investigation Commission was even established by the then-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Magalhães Pinto. The Commission was tasked with investigating the private lives and personal affairs of ministry employees and punishing conduct deemed scandalous—such as "drunkenness," "emotional instability," "drug use," and other practices considered threats to national security.
Careers were cut short by summary forced retirements, and the commission's report—kept secret for 40 years—clearly demonstrates that homophobia was a decisive factor in the selection of those purged. Of the 15 dismissal requests involving diplomats, seven cited the following justification: "For the practice of homosexuality, scandalous public incontinence."
According to the latest report by the National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals (Antra), Brazil recorded 80 murders of trans people in 2025. Although this figure represents a 34% reduction compared to 2024—the largest drop observed since the survey began tracking this data—Antra warns that this decline does not signify a genuine improvement in the living conditions of the trans population. The organization highlights that underreporting, a lack of official data, and persistent structural transphobia continue to obscure a significant portion of the violence faced by this group.
The profile of the victims remains shaped by historical inequalities: of the 80 people murdered, 77 were *travestis* and trans women—predominantly young Black women aged 18 to 29. Despite the drop in homicides, Brazil remains the country with the highest number of killings of trans people in the world for the 18th consecutive year. Furthermore, the report notes an increase in reported assaults and other forms of transphobic violence, underscoring that the population's vulnerability remains high and demands more effective responses from both the State and society.
Violence in rural areas
Violence is not limited to major urban centers. The Gay Group of Bahia (GGB), Latin America's oldest LGBT+ organization, has released figures on violent deaths of LGBT+ individuals in Brazil for the year 2025. Despite a decrease in numbers compared to the previous year (291), the country remains the world leader in murders of LGBT+ people, with 257 violent deaths, followed by Mexico with 40 homicides and the United States with 10. The data reflect the Brazilian State's inaction and chronic underreporting, as it still fails to systematically record hate crimes motivated by LGBTphobia*.
Among these deaths—though not directly linked to land or territorial disputes—21 occurred in rural settings, including farmlands, forests, ponds, roadsides, and other countryside locations. Trans people make up the majority of the victims, comprising 10 trans women, one *travesti*, and one trans man, alongside 9 gay men. The average age of the victims is 31.
The states of Pernambuco and Mato Grosso lead the figures with 3 murders each, followed by Bahia, Ceará, Espírito Santo, and São Paulo, with 2 victims in each state. Regionally, the Northeast leads with 9 deaths, followed by the Southeast (5), the Center-West (4), and the North, with three victims. The research, conducted independently and voluntarily for over 45 years, relies on media reports, social media, blogs, and correspondence sent to the GGB. Violence against LGBT+ individuals exhibits certain characteristics, such as occurring within the family or household—involving close relatives or cohabitants (neighbors, partners, etc.), which underscores that the danger is not limited to public spaces; explicit LGBTphobic motivation—where victims were targeted for homicide due to rejection of their sexual orientation or gender identity; and low case resolution rates—with clearance rates even lower than the general average, highlighting institutional selectivity and negligence within the justice system.
Within the MST, there are historic and emblematic cases. Notable examples include the murder of Lindolfo Kosmaski—a young farmer, teacher, and activist with the Landless LGBT Collective in Paraná—killed in May 2021 in a crime denounced as LGBTphobic; Gabriel Araújo, a young Landless Movement member from Espírito Santo, whose death was also denounced by the MST as potentially linked to a hate crime and LGBTphobia; and the death of Aline da Silva, an MST activist in Pernambuco, murdered on August 19, 2019, in the municipality of Arcoverde, in the state's *Sertão* region.
An Ongoing Struggle
The Landless Workers' Movement (MST) LGBTI+ Collective has been carrying out the "Permanent Campaign Against LGBTphobia in the Countryside"—launched nationwide in 2023—with the aim of confronting the various forms of violence faced by LGBTQIA+ individuals in settlements, encampments, rural schools, cooperatives, and other spaces of grassroots organization linked to the MST. The campaign seeks to combine political education, support and care, violence monitoring, the production of educational materials, and mobilization within settlements and encampments to build territories that are safer and free from discrimination.
In recent years, the campaign has assumed a strategic role within the movement. While celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Landless LGBTI+ Collective, the MST reaffirmed that combating LGBTphobia is a fundamental part of building People’s Agrarian Reform. The collective emphasizes that violence against LGBTQIA+ people in rural areas is not limited to physical aggression but also includes social exclusion, discrimination, silencing, and the denial of rights.
One of the most interesting aspects of the campaign is that it does not present itself merely as an initiative to denounce abuses. The MST defines it as an ongoing process of cultural transformation that integrates communication, people’s education, culture, and grassroots organizing. Materials produced by the collective argue that it is not enough to combat violence after it occurs; it is necessary to build social relationships capable of preventing its recurrence within these territories.
Building a society free from all forms of oppression is understood as a collective responsibility involving everyone as we advance toward new relationships in our territories—reiterating that there can be no free territories without free bodies.
The MST LGBTI Collective
The MST LGBTI Collective is a space for self-organization among lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, *travestis*, transsexuals, and individuals with other political identities who are part of the MST. The collective works on political education, combating LGBTphobia in settlements and encampments, promoting diversity, and shaping the LGBTQIA+ agenda within the People’s Agrarian Reform project. The collective began to take shape in 2015 with the first national seminar on sexual diversity within the MST, held at the Florestan Fernandes National School (ENFF). In 2018, the collective was formally integrated into the Movement's organizational structure. Since then, it has organized gatherings, campaigns to combat LGBTphobia, educational initiatives, and national and international networking efforts.
In 2025, the Collective celebrated 10 years of national organization, highlighting the historic presence of LGBTI+ individuals in the struggle for land and reaffirming the MST’s commitment to sexual and gender diversity. Recent initiatives include the "Campaign Against LGBTphobia in the Countryside" and national gatherings aimed at strengthening the participation of trans people, *travestis*, and other LGBTQIA+ individuals within agrarian reform territories.
*Matheus, Luana, and Wesley are members of the Landless Rural Workers' Movement (MST) LGBTI+ Collective.
