Rio de Janeiro councilor Alana Passos (PL) was convicted by the Regional Electoral Court of Bahia (TRE-BA) for discriminatory and transphobic electoral propaganda published on Instagram. The decision, signed on Thursday (22), determines the definitive removal of the video and the payment of a fine of R$15,000.
The representation was filed by candidate for federal deputy Manuella Tyler (PSB-BA), who questioned statements made by Alana Passos against the articulation to form a so-called “trans bench” in the Chamber of Deputies.
In the video, Alana Passos stated that the initiative would represent a “contamination of youth” and asked that cisgender women — she calls “biological women” — avoid voting for trans candidates who could join the group.
Alana Passos was elected state deputy of Rio de Janeiro in 2018, with 106,253 votes, and served in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj) between 2019 and 2023. In 2022, she ran for re-election for the PTB, but remained as a substitute.
Two years later, she ran for a seat in the Rio de Janeiro City Council for PL and ended up as the first substitute. In December 2025, she assumed a councilor seat following the resignation of Carlos Bolsonaro.
In the 2026 elections, she ran for the position of federal deputy, but remained as a substitute.
Manuella Tyler is an environmentalist and political activist from Bahia, born in Juazeiro, in the north of the state. She ran for city councilor in 2024, for PSOL, and was a substitute. In 2026, he ran for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies for the PSB, and also served as a substitute.
Manuella Tyler gained national attention in February this year, after talking and taking a selfie with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) during a party event in Salvador. The scene had repercussions on social media following the reaction of First Lady Janja, who approached the president shortly afterwards.
In the recording analyzed by the Electoral Court, Alana Passos criticized the possibility of creating a trans bench in the National Congress and stated that a minority would be occupying spaces intended for cisgender women.
"There is a movement to create the first trans bench in the Federal Chamber of Deputies. And then I ask you, how long will we allow a noisy minority to take over our spaces as biological women? What will they arrive in Congress for? To attack us? To call us imbeciles? To call us trash, the scum of society? Is that what you biological woman want?", said Alana.
In the decision, the case's rapporteur, Gustavo Teles Veras Nunes, understood that the statements exceeded the limits of political criticism and constituted discriminatory speech.
According to the judge, the content was not restricted to questions about legislative proposals or party positions, but directly affected the candidates' gender identity. The decision also recognized the occurrence of gender-based political violence and highlighted that freedom of expression cannot serve as protection for discriminatory demonstrations.
In addition to the R$15,000 fine, TRE-BA confirmed the order for the video to be permanently removed from Instagram. The determination also covers any identical reproductions of the publication.
During the process, Alana's defense claimed that the Bahian Electoral Court had no territorial jurisdiction to judge the case. The argument was rejected by the court, which recognized its jurisdiction as it understood that the publication could affect the electorate and public image of Manuella Tyler in Bahia.
Facebook Serviços Online do Brasil Ltda., responsible for Instagram, was excluded from the defendant part of the action for having complied with the court order to remove the content. The company remained in the process as a third party.
g1 contacted Alana Passos's office and is awaiting a position on the case.
For Manuella Tyler, the decision represents progress in combating transphobia and defending the political participation of trans people.
"Politics needs to be a space for contesting ideas, not persecuting people for who they are. When a candidate uses her campaign to delegitimize trans women and encourage their exclusion from spaces of power, this cannot be treated as a simple opinion. We are talking about dignity, political rights and the right to contest elections without being the target of discrimination", he stated.
