In the next legislative session, the number of women in Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies will increase. However, it will remain far from the balance between men and women seen among the country’s population. It jumped from the current 77 seats occupied by women to 91, that is, about 17.7% of all the 513 parliamentarians elected for the Chamber of Deputies.
When releasing the news about the increase of female participation in that House, the Chamber of Deputies stated that there is still an underrepresentation of women in politics. The House also highlighted that the average female participation in parliaments around the world is 26.4%. The survey was conducted by the Interparliamentary Union, which highlights that Brazil is 146º among 193 countries analyzed. Countries such as Cuba (53.4% of female deputies) and Mexico (50%) had better performances.
In eight states, women from a broad range of political parties received most of the votes to take a seat in the Chamber of Deputies: Bia Kicis (Liberal Party, Federal District), Caroline de Toni (Liberal Party, Santa Catarina state), Detinha (Liberal Party, Maranhão state), Dra. Alessandra Haber (Brazilian Democratic Movement, Pará state), Natália Bonavides (Workers’ Party, Rio Grande do Norte state), Socorro Neri (Progressive Party, Acre state), Silvye Alves (Brazil Union, Goiás state), and Yandra de André (Brazil Union, Sergipe state).
The Liberal Party and the Brazil of Hope Federation, headed by the Workers’ Party, have the two largest caucuses in the Chamber of Deputies. These two parties also have the largest number of elected women: 17 from the Liberal Party and 21 from the leftist federation. It is also noteworthy that the Social Democratic Party jumped from one to four female deputies.
First trans federal deputies
Elected federal deputies Erika Hilton (Socialism and Liberty Party, São Paulo state) and Duda Salabert (Democratic Labor Party, Minas Gerais state) made history by becoming the first trans women elected to the Chamber. They were serving as city councilors in the capital city of their respective states, and now they will move to work in Brasília.
Insufficient stimulus
The electoral legislation includes a set of stimuli designed to increase female representation. However, in real life, the number of elected female federal deputies shows that these stimuli are insufficient.
Among the measures, each party must nominate at least 30% female candidates. Moreover, this same minimum percentage (30%) must be allocated to female candidates in the electoral budget and TV time. However, it is common to launch "stooge-candidacies", that is, fake candidacies to ensure the fulfillment of the law.
Black people in the Chamber of Deputies
Although Black people represent 47% of all the 10,629 candidacies for federal deputy, this group, which, in Brazil, includes both blacks and browns, were elected to occupy only 135 seats of the Chamber of Deputies – 26% – from January 2023 on.
This number is a rise of 9% compared to the 2018 elections, when 124 Black candidates were elected. In 2014, this number was even smaller, with only 102 Black federal deputies.
In Brazil, 56% of the population self-declared as Black, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE, in Portuguese). According to the country’s Supreme Electoral Court (TSE, in Portuguese), 52% of the voters are Black people.
White candidates got 370 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, that is, 72% of all the 513 seats. In 2018, they were 75% (387 seats). In 2014, this group was 80% of all the parliamentarians in that House.
Political parties
The right and far-right parties elected more Black candidates when compared to left-wing parties, which demand more Black politicians in Brazil’s National Congress. Now, the Chamber of Deputies will have 60 Black and conservative parliamentarians from the Liberal Party, Republicans Party, and Progressive Party.
The far-right Liberal Party, Jair Bolsonaro’s party will be the party with the largest number of federal deputies self-declared as Black – 25 –, which is 25% of all the 99 politicians the party elected.
Still speaking about the right, the Republicans Party, which elected 20 Black parliamentarians, 49% of all the politicians elected by the party. Republicans are followed by the Progressive Party, which elected 15 Black parliamentarians to the National Congress, 32% of all the politicians elected by the party.
Among the leftist parties, 34 Black candidates won. The Workers’ Party is on top with 16 Black candidacies, 23% of all the 68 politicians the party elected.
The Democratic Labor Party elected 14 federal deputies; six of them are Black. The other leftist parties are the Communist Party of Brazil (4), Socialism and Liberty Party (3), Brazilian Socialist Party (2), Green Party (2), and Sustainability Network (1).
Compared to left-wing parties, center parties elected more Black federal deputies. Among the winners of Union Brazil, 17 are Black, 29% of the total. Then appear Brazilian Democratic Movement (8), Social Democratic Party (6), Podemos (5), Avante (2), PROS (2), and Solidarity (1).
Edited by: Flávia Chacon, Rodrigo Durão Coelho e Vivian Virissimo
