Mar Galcerán was 18 when she decided to join a political party. No one had much faith in her. She had Down syndrome and, according to many, that path was not for someone like her.
She carried on anyway. She worked for more than twenty years as a civil servant in Valencia, Spain, and chaired Asindown, an association that supports families with children with this condition, for four years.
She built, seat by seat of trust, a place within the Partido Popular until, in May 2023, she appeared in 20th place on the list for the regional elections.
In September, she took the oath of office in Les Corts Valencianes and became, at 45, the first parliamentarian with Down syndrome in Spain’s history — and possibly in all of Europe.
Not everyone welcomed her with applause. “There are people who think I am not capable”, she told The Guardian, “but they are people who do not know me or know my background”.
She prefers to look ahead: she wants to be seen as a person, not only for her disability.
