STORY-TRÅD·politik

Number of women elected to Brazil’s Congress rises

The number of women in the Brazilian lower house and the Senate will be the highest in history. In the former, the number of women elected rose from 90 to 109, a surge of 21 percent. This outcome occurred despite a decline in the number of female candidates. In 2022, 3,317 women ran for the office of federal representative. In 2026, they numbered 2,820, down 24 percent. Notícias relacionadas:Gender-based political violence in Brazil increase 11-fold in 4 years.Flávio Bolsonaro, Lula head for runoff in Brazil’s presidential race.Head of Brazil’s Electoral Court notes smooth running of elections.For the Senate, Brazilians elected twelve women to the 54 seats up for grabs – the highest since the military dictatorship ended, in 1985. In 2018, when two-thirds of the Senate were also up for election, eight women were elected. Brazil has 81 senators in each legislative session. Each serves an eight-year term. Every four years, one-third or two-thirds of the Senate is renewed. As a result, the number of female senators will increase from the current fifteen to eighteen next year. Far from equality Despite the change, women remain a minority in both houses of Congress. In the lower house, women will account for 21 percent of the 513 representatives in the next legislative session. The coalition comprising the Workers’ Party (PT), the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB), and the Green Party (PV) elected the largest share of women – 34 out of the 109 elected. As for the Senate, the number of female senators starting next year will reach 22.2 percent of the 81 seats. Those elected this year will take office in February, with terms running through 2035. The Federal District elected two women. Since it already has one representative, the Federal District is now the only unit of the federation with three female senators. Agendas for women The increase in the number of elected female lawmakers does not necessarily translate into policies focused on women, says Flávia Biroli, a professor of political science at the University of Brasília. In her view, as the number of women in elected office increases, so does the diversity of their views, and some will advocate for patriarchal, rather than egalitarian, perspectives. “You can have elected women representing economic views that are harmful to the vast majority of women. For example, you can have an elected woman – as is the case with Senator Bia Kicis – who voted against the law on equal pay for women and men.” Black women The number of black women elected has also risen, at least in the lower house of Congress. A survey conducted by the organization Mulheres Negras Decidem found that 15 black women were elected to federal Congress in 2026 – a 66.6 percent increase from 2022, when nine were elected. The organization’s political coordinator, Tainah Pereira, celebrates this progress. “It’s also interesting to note that the vast majority of these black women who are currently in the lower house and who were elected for the next legislative session are young women. So, we’re seeing a renewal of black women in leadership, and I think we can have high expectations for the work of these leaders who have now made it to office.” The Senate, however, saw a setback. No black female candidate was elected. Benedita da Silva (PT), the first black woman to hold a seat in the Senate in 1998, lost her reelection bid in Rio de Janeiro. To date, only four black women have served as senators.