Carla Antonelli, who made history by becoming Spain’s first openly trans senator, went viral after a powerful speech on trans rights she delivered in parliament was shared on social media.
A Spanish politician, former actor and LGBTQ+ activist, Carla Antonelli was elected to the Spanish Senate in 2023. Becoming the first trans person to be officially sworn in as a senator in Spain, she pledged to further advance the country’s progressive legislation and advocate for queer rights.
Committed to that promise, earlier this month, the senator delivered a powerful speech in defense of trans rights addressing the parliament. After she shared the video on Instagram on February 21, her speech went viral, with many praising her crucial message.
“Trans people – we are everyone’s topic of conversation,” Antonelli said in her speech. “Everyone has to have an opinion about us. If we are trans, what we are, what we are not.”
“Do we get surgery or not? Do we mutilate ourselves or not? Just leave us alone, for god’s sake!”
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Her speech came after Spanish nationalist party Vox called for the repeal of a regional law protecting trans people in Madrid. Addressing members of the party specifically, the senator continued: “Members of Vox, today you came here to derogate my colleague Jimena [González, another Spanish politician who is trans], to derogate me. Honestly, don’t you feel ashamed?
“Do you not feel any shame at all for trying to remove, to erase, to cut out of this society a historically persecuted group of people?”
Antonelli added: “People who are finally starting to lift our heads, trying to find our place in this world? You are making our lives absolutely unbearable.”
She concluded the speech with the powerful words: “That is what you want, to push us back to the margins. But let me be clear: we will not go back to the margins!”
At a time when trans rights are increasingly under attack, her words have resonated with people all over the world. Many shared the viral video and praised the senator’s speech, including actor Pedro Pascal, who has been a vocal ally to the trans community.
Pedro Pascal sharing Carla Antonelli’s speech against the abolition of the law for the protection of transgender people in Madrid. Carla is one of the few Spanish politicians that makes me feel proud of my country, here you have the full speech. pic.twitter.com/Dp2cet4Wk2
— Emi (@emeispunk) February 25, 2025
“Pedro Pascal sharing Carla Antonelli’s speech against the abolition of the law for the protection of transgender people in Madrid. Carla is one of the few Spanish politicians that makes me feel proud of my country, here you have the full speech,” someone shared on X.
Another user wrote, “As a woman I want to keep Carla Antonelli on my team. She is amazing.”
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