After being elected to Valencia’s regional assembly, Galcerán says she wants to be seen as a person, not for her disability

For decades she battled to ensure that people with intellectual disabilities were part of the conversation. The extent of the progress she had made, however, was laid bare recently when Mar Galcerán became Spain’s first parliamentarian with Down’s syndrome.

“It’s unprecedented,” the 45-year-old told the Guardian. “Society is starting to see that people with Down’s syndrome have a lot to contribute. But it’s a very long road.”

Her feat has been decades in the making. When Galcerán was 18 years old, she joined the conservative People’s party (PP) after being attracted to what she described as its embrace of tradition.

Slowly she worked her way up the party apparatus. Her commitment paid off last May when she was added as the 20th name on the list of candidates the PP was fielding in Valencia’s regional elections.

  • sir_pronoun@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    67
    arrow-down
    8
    ·
    10 months ago

    Seeing all the other comments talking about her cognitive deficiency, I want to add that I will take an honest, good-hearted politician with Down Syndrome over a corrupt asshole any day. And as if the average politician was smarter than a bag of bricks.

    …apart from that, shit man, any conservative is one too many