Maria do Rosário Nunes (born 22 November 1966) is a Brazilian teacher and politician. She graduated in

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

from the

Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul The Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (, UFRGS) is a Brazilian Public university, public National university, federal research university based in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. UFRGS is among the largest and highest-rated universities ...

, and took a

postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

degree at the

University of São Paulo The Universidade de São Paulo (, USP) is a public research university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, and the largest public university in Brazil. The university was founded on 25 January 1934, regrouping already existing schools in ...

. From 2011 to 2014, she served as the Secretary for Human Rights under the Rousseff administration. With the exception of her three-year tenure as Human Rights Secretary, she has been a congresswoman since 2003, representing the southern Brazilian state of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

as a member of the Worker's Party (Brazil).

Early life and education

Maria do Rosário Nunes was born on 22 November 1966 in the municipality of

Veranópolis Veranópolis is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. As of 2020, the estimated population was 26,533. Veranópolis, like most of its neighbouring towns, is known as one of the cities with highest standards of living in Brazi ...

. In her youth she was an active member of the student movement."Secretaria de Direitos Humanos da Presidência da República - Maria do Rosário"
Portal Brasil. 8 December 2010. Later, as a teacher in public schools, Maria do Rosário became active in the

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

movement. A graduate teacher, she took a

postgraduate degree Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor ...

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

at the Laboratory for Child Studies of the

Career

Maria do Rosário was elected, as a member of the

Communist Party of Brazil The Communist Party of Brazil (, PCdoB) is a List of political parties in Brazil, political party in Brazil. The PCdoB officially adheres to Marxist–Leninist theory. It has national reach and deep penetration in the trade union and Student ...

, to the

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

City Council for the 1993-1996 term with 7,555 votes. The year after her inauguration, she switched to the

Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...

. In 1996 she was re-elected with over 20,000 votes, the top-voted councillor that year. During her two terms as councilwoman, Maria do Rosário acted as president of the education and human rights committees. Her second term at the Porto Alegre City Council was interrupted when she was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Sul with over 77,000 votes in 1998. That year, she became the second top voted state deputy of Rio Grande do Sul. As a state deputy, she acted as chairwoman of the citizenship and human rights committee and vice-president of the Legislative Assembly for two years. At the next election Maria do Rosário was elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

with over 140,000 votes. She was re-elected in 2006 with 110,000 votes. In the National Congress she served as the rapporteur of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry which investigated people responsible for sexual exploitation of children. Maria do Rosário represented the Chamber in the Commission on Political Deaths and Disappearances during the military dictatorship and acted as chairwoman of the Special Committee for the Adoption Bill. In 2003 she became coordinator of the Parliamentary Front in Defense of Children's Rights, in addition to serving as vice-chairwoman of the human rights and education committees. In 2009 she was the chairwoman of the education committee, having coordinated a series of debates about the new National Education Plan, which sets the goals for the area for the period from 2011 to 2020. In 2004 Maria do Rosário was an unsuccessful candidate for deputy mayor on the ticket headed by fellow party member Raul Pont. In 2008 she was a mayoral candidate, losing to incumbent mayor José Fogaça. She was the Workers' Party's vice-president from 2005 to 2007. She was re-elected for a third term in 2010, after resolving legal issues relating to her 2008 campaign. Ogliari, Elder
"Justiça barra candidatura de Maria do Rosário no RS"
''

Estadão ''O Estado de S. Paulo'' (; ), also known as ''Estadão'' (; ), is a daily newspaper published in São Paulo, Brazil. It is the third largest newspaper in Brazil, and its format changed from broadsheet to berliner on October 17, 2021. It has t ...

''. 3 August 2010. On 8 December 2010 President-elect

Dilma Rousseff Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the only woman to have held the ...

appointed Maria do Rosário to succeed Paulo Vannuchi as head of the Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic for Human Rights, a ministerial-level cabinet office. Although she did not indicate priorities, the press points the battle against

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

and the establishment of

truth and reconciliation commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state ac ...

s to investigate the crimes perpetrated by public office holders during the

dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

among her top priorities. Agência Estado
"Maria do Rosário herda briga com Nelson Jobim"
''Estadão''. 19 de dezembro de 2010. She was also expected to work for the Brazilian government to fulfill

the verdict ''The Verdict'' is a 1982 American legal drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and written by David Mamet, adapted from Barry Reed's 1980 novel of the same name. The film stars Paul Newman as a down-on-his-luck alcoholic lawyer in Boston who acc ...

of the

Inter-American Court of Human Rights The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I/A Court H.R.) is an international court based in San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it was formed by the American Convention on Human Rights, a human r ...

against the country's amnesty law.

References

External links

*
Page at the Chamber of Deputies website
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosario, Maria do 1966 births Living people Brazilian women in politics Brazilian LGBTQ rights activists University of São Paulo alumni Communist Party of Brazil politicians Workers' Party (Brazil) politicians Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul alumni Members of the Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Sul People from Veranópolis Brazilian feminists Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) from Rio Grande do Sul