巴西众议院选出109名女性议员，占比21.2%创历史新高

Brazil’s Congress will have the largest female representation in its history when the next legislature begins in February 2027. In the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil’s Lower House), 109 women were elected, 18 more than in 2022, when 91 won seats. Women will hold 21.2% of the Chamber’s 513 seats, the highest share ever recorded. In the Senate, 12 women were elected, the most female senators chosen in a single election. With the new representatives, the women’s caucus is expected to reach 18 members in 2027. If confirmed, women will hold 22.2% of the Senate’s 81 seats. Experts interviewed by Valor said a larger women’s caucus in Congress represents important progress, but it remains to be seen whether the increase will affect the political agenda. They believe that will depend on the profiles of the women elected and how much power they can exercise in Congress. Despite the increase in the number of women elected to the Chamber, they remain a minority. Men will hold 404 seats, or 78.8% of the total. Of the 109 women elected, 59 won reelection. Among the party caucuses, the federation formed by the Workers’ Party (PT), Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB), and Green Party (PV) elected the most women: 34. They account for 31.2% of the 109 women elected to the next legislature. The PT elected 25 women, the most of any party. The Socialism and Freedom Party (PSOL) followed with eight. Among them is Erika Hilton of São Paulo, who received more votes than any woman in the Chamber’s history. Hilton won more than 1.5 million votes, surpassing the previous record held by Joice Hasselmann, who received 1.08 million in 2018, when she was elected as a federal deputy from São Paulo for the now-defunct Social Liberal Party (PSL). The PCdoB elected seven women, followed by the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) with five and the PV with two. Among the centrist parties, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB) elected five women each. On the center-right and right, the Liberal Party (PL) elected the most women, with 22 deputies. The Brazilian Union elected eight, followed by Podemos with seven and Progressives (PP) with six. Republicans elected five women. The New Party (Novo) elected two, while the Democratic Renewal Party (PRD) and Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) each elected one. Débora Thomé, a professor at IDP and researcher at FGV Cepesp, said the election result “was surprising,” because women made up a smaller share of those elected by the PL than by the PT. She had expected “a wave of right-wing women from the PL.” “That was the expectation after the intensive grassroots work Michelle Bolsonaro had been doing within the PL in several states she visited with Senator Damares Alves. The PT elected 25 women among 70 [deputies], almost 40%. That is a major development. The PL elected 22 women out of 120,” she explained. The former first lady chaired PL Mulher, the party’s women’s organization. The distribution also varies considerably among the states. São Paulo will have the largest female delegation, with 16 deputies, followed by Minas Gerais with 11 and Rio de Janeiro with 10. Bahia, Pernambuco, and Santa Catarina each elected six women. Ceará, Goiás, Maranhão, and Rio Grande do Sul will each have five female deputies, while Mato Grosso do Sul, Pará, and Paraná will have four. The remaining states will have between one and three representatives. Acre, Amapá, Mato Grosso, Rio Grande do Norte, and Rondônia each elected three women; Amazonas, Espírito Santo, and Sergipe elected two each; and Alagoas, Paraíba, and Tocantins elected one each. The Federal District, Piauí, and Roraima elected no women to the Chamber. By party, the Democratic Labor Party (PDT), Sustainability Network (Rede), Forward, Solidarity, and Missão also elected no female deputies. Luciana Santana, a professor at the Federal University of Alagoas (Ufal), said the increased presence of women in the Chamber strengthens the legitimacy of female representation and could encourage more women to run for office. “We have 50 new female deputies. The result will therefore combine this expansion in female representation with the continued presence of leaders who, in my view, were already established. That could be positive because legislative experience helps build influence and strengthens the ability to compete for leadership positions,” she said. Santana cautioned, however, that the women elected do not form a politically homogeneous bloc. That “means women with different experiences who will often contribute to progress and, in some cases, setbacks.” In the Senate, women won 12 of the 54 seats contested. It is the largest number elected in a single vote since Brazil’s return to democracy. The previous record was set in 2002, when eight women were elected. In 2018, when two-thirds of the Senate was also renewed, seven women won seats. With its new composition, the Senate women’s caucus will shift further to the right. Of the 18 women who will hold office in the next legislature, 10 belong to right-wing or center-right parties, six to left-wing parties, and two to more centrist parties. Among those elected, Michelle Bolsonaro and Bia Kicis, both representing the PL, won the Federal District’s two seats. None of the female senators who sought reelection, however, secured another term. As a result, eight women will leave the Senate. Santana said the Senate’s new composition raises expectations that women could work together on important issues, such as combating violence against women and expanding female participation in politics. “I believe the challenge posed by this greater representation is to turn presence into decision-making power and to occupy strategic positions as well—presidencies, committees, rapporteurships, party leadership posts, and roles in budget negotiations,” she said. Thomé said the larger women’s caucus will affect the political agenda only if these groups can identify areas of agreement. She cited combating violence against women and child marriage as issues of interest to most of those elected. “The major difficulty is that these women will vote on issues in line with their parties. One agenda is always the most difficult to address: sexual and reproductive rights. That is where the major divide lies, with progressive women sometimes going one way and conservative women going the other. Those issues will genuinely remain more stalled,” she said. Translation: Todd Harkin