ANTRA – National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals is a national network that links more than two hundred institutions throughout Brazil that develop actions to promote the citizenship of the travestis and transgender population. It was born in 1993 in the city of Rio de Janeiro under the name REANTA – Rede Nacional de Travestis, A few months later it was renamed RENTRAL – Rede Nacional de Travestis e Liberados (National Network of  Travestis and Liberated Persons), and finally in 2000 in the city of Porto Alegre it received the name of ANTRA – Articulação Nacional de Transgêneros (National Transgender Articulation) and gained legal personality for the first time. ANTRA was idealized and thought of at first by transvestites, so the other identities were joining the institution as the years went by and people claimed this visibility. For this reason the nomenclature did not mention the identity of transsexual women, who only became part of it years after the legal constitution. Today ANTRA has the honor of representing these people who are acting in the organizations associated with ANTRA.

The first mission was: “To act as a national reference in the struggle for the conquest of citizenship for Travestis and Transsexual women”.

With the advent of partnerships and the development of projects and actions, ANTRA needed to expand its range of action and the inclusion of various categories in its actions, because as a network of Trans people we could not close our eyes and isolate ourselves without noticing and dialoguing with other identities that were emerging over time and giving opportunities for these people to use our media for their visibilities. Thus we redesigned ANTRA’s mission to be: “Identify, Mobilize, Organize, Bring Together, Empower, and Train Travestis and Transsexuals from the five regions of the country to build a national political framework in order to represent our population in the pursuit of full citizenship and isonomy of rights. To achieve this mission, here are some of ANTRA’s lines of action: Promote informative campaigns and present proposal in order to positively visibilize the Travestis and Transgender population; Collaborate at all levels with other networks, which work with health, education, public security and human rights in order to develop joint work, exchanging experiences in the areas of action of each; Denounce and promote the disclosure, in all possible media, of any case where prejudice and or discrimination by gender identity and sexual orientation is detected; Support any and all actions for the prevention of HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis and other STDs in all aspects and areas; Support actions aimed at improving the quality of life of travestis, transsexual women and trans men living and cohabiting with HIV/AIDS; Encourage and support the organization of meetings, seminars, congresses of travestis and transsexuals to define the flags of struggles and forward the demands of its affiliates.