Leila Elected Senator In Brazil – Tifanny And Others Not Elected

Background

Tifanny Abreu made volleyball history when she became the first trans female to play in Brazil’s Superliga. Since then, she broke the competition’s single game scoring record, and has dominated the league’s offensive statistics. Such performances has drawn the ire of many teams, players, and fans, who have asked the Brazilian Volleyball Federation (CBV) to find a “solution” to the situation. Although CBV has not yet taken any action on the matter, as it will probably wait for FIVB’s future decisions, clubs have taken action by agreeing to tag Tifanny with a maximum score in Superliga’s parity system for next season, one of only two players who are not Olympic gold medalists, but yet were singled out with the distinction. She has recently extended her contract with Bauru for next season, although a call up for Brazil’s national team was axed by the CBV and FIVB.

Story

Tons of current and former athletes tried their luck in Brazil’s government elections this past weekend. In volleyball, it was no different. The highlight from before the election was Tifanny Abreu’s candidacy for the house of representatives. However, the results were not short of disastrous for the player, who only netted 3,889 votes, good enough for 374th place and very fair away from being close to being elected. Olympians Dante (26,507 votes), Rodrigão (8,089 votes), and Xandó (2,171) shared similar fates.

Although the result for Tifanny must be disappointing (she erased all of her social media posts related to the campaign), her Bauru team cannot but feel lucky, as it now will have Valentina Diouf, who was hired as a possible replacement for Tifanny in case she was elected, and Tifanny herself. Both players are over 6’6″ tall.

The good news for the volleyball community though, is that Leila Barros made Brazilian history by being the first woman in her state’s (technically a federal district) ever voted into the federal senate. She led all candidates with 467,787 votes (almost 20% of the total). Leila is famous for having successful careers at both the indoor and beach games. Prior to the election, she was already involved in politics, as she was her state’s secretary of sport. Here is what she wrote to fans after the election:

“I have much appreciation for the 467,787 people who trusted me and now I promise to honor each and every one of you with hard work!

I want to thank God for giving me strength, health and guiding me to get here wisely.🙏 My family, for all the support in difficult times and for having been so lovingly supportive of me in this decision that impacted their lives. I love you, Emanuel, Lukas and Matheus. ♥ ️ My team, that was me during this great challenge and believed in our project, dedicating and abdicating so many things to be with me. All of you were amazing! To the governor, who gave me the opportunity to work in his administration in the Government of Brasilia and to show my work, and mainly, for believe that this achievement would be possible from the beginning. Just like me, he is a person in love with this city and I am very proud to walk by his side.

[…]

And most of all, I thank all Brazilians for the opportunity. I am very happy, honored and I take a lot of responsibility with this important task! I am the daughter of this land, I am the first woman to represent the DF in the Senate and have in me the certainty that I will defend our land with great strength and will work tirelessly for the development of the Federal District.

An affectionate kiss for all of you!”

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Muita gratidão pelas 467,787 pessoas que confiaram em mim e agora prometo honrar com muito trabalho cada um e cada uma de vcs! Quero agradecer a Deus por ter me dado força, saúde e me guiado para chegar até aqui com sabedoria.🙏 A minha família por todo o apoio nos momentos difíceis e por terem sido tão carinhosamente solidários comigo nessa decisão que impactou na vida de todos eles. Amo vocês, Emanuel, Lukas e Matheus.♥️ A minha equipe que encarou comigo esse grande desafio e acreditou no nosso projeto se dedicando e abdicando de tantas coisas junto comigo. Todos vocês foram incríveis! 👊🏼 Ao Governador @rollembergpsb, que me deu oportunidade de trabalhar em sua gestão no Governo de Brasília e mostrar o meu trabalho, e principalmente, por acreditar que essa conquista seria possível desde o início. Assim como eu, ele é uma pessoa apaixonada por essa cidade e eu tenho muito orgulho de caminhar ao seu lado. Aos amigos do meu partido @psb.df e Nacional, na pessoa do presidente Carlos Siqueira, a todos os candidatos e suas equipes da coligação Brasília de Mãos Limpas que estiveram junto comigo e foram imprescindíveis no nosso resultado. Às minhas queridas suplentes Leany Lemos e Ivonete Nascimento, que formaram comigo uma chapa feminina de mulheres fortes e guerreiras. E principalmente agradeço a todos os brasilienses pela oportunidade. Estou muito feliz, honrada e encaro com muita responsabilidade essa importante tarefa! Sou filha desse barro vermelho, sou a primeira mulher a representar o DF no Senado e tenham em mim a certeza que com muita garra defenderei a nossa terra e trabalharei incansavelmente pelo desenvolvimento do Distrito Federal. Um beijo carinhoso para todos vocês!

A post shared by Leila Barros (Leila do Vôlei) (@leiladovolei8) on Oct 8, 2018 at 3:59pm PDT

Leila won 4 Grand Prix golds with Brazil (1994, 1996 – MVP, 1998 -MVP , and 2004), as well as two Olympic bronzes (1996 and 2000), among many other international accolades.