Juliana Mittelbach, a 40-year-old hospital nurse from the city of Curitiba, Brazil, had long considered a career in politics until the COVID-19 crisis forced a decision. She had noticed it was “mostly Black people” who died. “They were the ones who came to the hospital in the worst condition or when it was already too late,” she told openDemocracy.
Mittelbach came to the harsh realisation that Brazil’s right-wing policies had severely affected her community. “It was a call to action that pushed me to launch my candidacy,” she says.
She is running for the legislative assembly of the southern Brazil state of Paraná as a candidate of the Workers’ Party. If she won, she would be Paraná’s first Black female lawmaker.
