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.
I don’t think that’s true.
Conservative politicians often play pretend to pander to the religious conservatives, which is a subset of all conservatives. But that does not mean they believe in the shit they peddle.
Let’s take the example of the US. Trump was anything but a believing Christian. He still pushed for the end of Roe vs Wade to score political points with the Christofascist right. Then, when shit went too far, he backed down because it’s hurting him politically †, which is a sign he never cared. Heck, the man was recorded being “pro-choice” in 1999. Back when he wanted to be in team D rather than team R.
In other countries, like Canada, conservatives have agreed to not put abortion rights into question, because it’s very unpopular, even within their ranks*.
† https://time.com/6335088/donald-trump-abortion-position-2024-election/