Although a final assessment of the elections for Brazil’s Child Protective Services has not yet been concluded, it can already be said there has been an increase in popular participation, but further work is needed to ensure more engagement and combat the conservative religious presence in these agencies.
Partial data released by the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship (MDHC, in Portuguese), indicates there was an increase of 25% in voter turnout, compared to what was recorded in the last elections, in 2019.
However, experts interviewed by Brasil de Fato state that this growth is still not enough and that communication about the election needs to be expanded to encourage the population to participate. Monitoring and valuing post-election work is also seen as crucial.
Lawyer Ariel de Castro Alves, a specialist in children's and youth rights, states that the current scenario favors conservative movements in these elections.
Former national secretary for the Rights of Children and Adolescents and former president of the National Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (Conanda, in Portuguese), Alves points out that the election must be treated as a priority by public authorities to involve the whole of society.
“As this is an electoral process with optional and non-compulsory voting, groups that are already organized, such as churches, political parties, neighborhood associations and parliamentarians are stronger. These sectors are the ones that participate the most and not exactly the common voter, especially because it was a very poorly publicized process.”
According to the MDHC, an estimated 1.6 million people voted in the capital cities. The number should increase with the consolidation of information from the more than 5,000 Brazilian municipalities that hold elections.
Councilor Carlos Alberto de Souza Júnior, from the Municipal Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents in the city of São Paulo, says that the rise in participation is important, but remains low.
“I always say that I would like 10% of the population to participate. We still face the challenge of making these elections known. We have further lost society's participation due to two elements: we need to improve communication channels to publicize the process, but we also need to create a method of publicizing candidates.”
Míriam Kenzinger, a professor at the School of Social Service at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), states that the increase in participation in the elections shows deeper engagement, but highlights that there are still consistent challenges. To her, it is necessary to standardize the entire electoral process nationally, from registration to voting, and invest in monitoring, profile research and training of counselors.
“Despite this progress, considerable challenges remain. The predominance of elected candidates aligned with conservative agendas, even with an increase in the representation of the progressive democratic field, indicates there is still a path to be taken to achieve representation that is in full convergence with the precepts of the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA, in Portuguese) and our Federal Constitution.”
She also mentions the need for valuing professionals through the creation of a minimum wage floor to attract qualified, secular and technical professionals. Furthermore, the professor emphasizes that it is urgent to create conditions to expand the activities of the agency.
Polarization
A map of election results in the city of São Paulo, made by Paulo César de Oliveira and published by the Institute of Public and Social Cooperation, shows the presence of the conservative field in Child Protective Services.
Among 260 men and women, 58% are aligned with the field and 35% support the progressive agenda and the effective application of the ECA. Ariel de Castro Alves sees the influence of national political polarization in this scenario.
“Several sectors, particularly those that lost the national electoral process last year, got better organized this year, including neo-Pentecostal churches. It’s a kind of payback in light of last year’s presidential election and also in favor of the conservative agendas they defend.”
Carlos Alberto de Souza Junior states that overcoming the conservative agenda within Brazil’s Child Protective Services is the biggest challenge.
“Conservatism within an agency like Brazil’s Child Protective Services completely undermines its effectiveness. It fails to meet the legal aspects, which defend the rights to integrality, regardless of who the child or adolescent is, and what family composition they are from. Extreme conservatism protects rights in its own bubble.”
To Míriam Kenzinger, the elections amplified warnings made by the national network for the defense of children and youth about the influence of conservative religious groups and far-right parties on the agency.
However, she identifies signs of resistance from the progressive field, citing as an example the platform The Election of the Year, an initiative that provided information about candidates committed to the Statute of Children and Adolescents. More than 2,500 applications were listed on the website.
“In Rio de Janeiro, 26 of the 106 candidates listed on the platform were elected, signaling a movement towards more progressive representation (...) These initiatives, together with the increase in popular participation, indicate the beginning of a collective effort to counterbalance the conservative influence and reaffirm democratic and progressive principles in Child Protective Services. But there is still a long way to go,” she concludes.
By the end of this week, the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship intends to publish a final report on the elections for Brazilian Child Protective Services.
What does Brazil’s Child Protective Services do?
What is known in Brazil as “Conselhos Tutelares” are municipal bodies responsible for protecting and guaranteeing the rights of children and adolescents. They were created by the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA, in Portuguese), a Brazilian legislation that establishes the rights and duties of people under the age of 18. The main roles of Conselhos Tutelares are:
• Ensure the rights of children and adolescents: Its main goal is to ensure that the fundamental rights of these young people are respected and guaranteed, as established in the ECA. This includes rights such as education, health, food, family and community life, among others.
• Respond to cases of rights violation: When a situation of violation of the rights of a child or adolescent occurs, such as abuse, neglect, exploitation, mistreatment, or illegal child labor, among others, Child Protective Services must act to protect the victim and take the necessary measures to solve the problem.
• Guiding families: It also guides families through risky situations or social vulnerability, offering support so that they can adequately care for their children.
• Refer cases to the Public Prosecutor's Office: When a situation of violation of rights is serious and requires legal measures, Child Protective Services has the power to forward the case to the Public Prosecutor's Office, which can take the necessary legal measures.
• Engage in protection networks: Child Protective Services are part of child and adolescent protection networks, collaborating with other institutions, such as schools, health units, the police, and social assistance, among others, to promote the protection of children's and teens’ rights.
The agency is made up of counselors elected by the local community who play a fundamental role in promoting and defending the rights of children and adolescents, acting as one of the public services to contact in cases of violation of these rights. They perform their functions independently and autonomously, being an essential tool in ensuring compliance with the ECA at the municipal level.
Edited by: Nadini Lopes e Rodrigo Durão Coelho
