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Rise in black candidates boosts representation of Brazil’s diversity

A study based on the total number of candidates for the 2026 elections identified a slight shift in the racial profile of the candidates. The number of black and pardo candidates reached 49.9 percent of the total. In the general population, they represent 55.5 percent of Brazilians. The survey was conducted by the Institute for Socioeconomic Studies (INESC) and the consulting firm CommonData, using the database of the Superior Electoral Court. It found that, among the 20,448 valid candidates identified as of August 16, 10,191 self-identified as black or pardo. Notícias relacionadas:Brazil’s 2026 elections see record number of indigenous candidates.OAS to send international mission to monitor elections in Brazil.Of this year’s total number of applicants, 2,789 are black (13.6 percent of the total) and 7,402 are pardo (36.2%). In the general population, 10.2 percent are black and 45.3 percent are pardo. In 2022, when the survey was first conducted, black plus pardo candidates accounted for 35.5 percent. Regarding self-identification and the shift of white people to the black and pardo group, 338 changed their self-identification to pardo and six to black. On the right, 11.2 percent of white people changed their identification to pardo; in the center, 11.6 percent; and on the left, 11.7 percent. According to the institute’s advisor Carmela Zigoni, participants may be broadening their platform on racial issues – which are traditionally more prominent on the left – to win over more black and pardo voters, as well as those interested in these debates. She considers it worth noting that the funding situation has worsened for this group, as the Superior Electoral Court amended the rule and changed the proportional distribution for the quota. “Previously, if a party had 50 percent black and pardo candidates, it was required to allocate 50 percent of its funds to them; now, even with 50 percent black and pardo candidates, the allocation amounts to only 30 percent of the funds.” Gender The full results will be released in late September, but so far, white men remain the largest single group, with 6,688 applications, or 32.7 percent of the total. Next are pardo men, with 4,917 (24.1%); white women, with 3,271 (16%); and pardo women, with 2,485 (12.2%). Black men account for 1,555 of the candidates, or 7.6 percent, and black women account for 1,234 applications, equivalent to six percent of the total. “Furthermore, the data show a slowdown in the growth rate of black and pardo participation in the electoral process, which may be the result of setbacks in efforts to encourage participation,” she added.