It is undeniable that the brazilian politics has a historical sexist scar. Even though society has evolved in the recent years, in politics, women in Brazil still have many rights to be conquered. While the population is composed in 52% for women, the female politicians are only 9% of the federal deputies, and 12% between all the senators.
The statistics, for this year’s presidential elections, are not much better: between twenty five candidates running for president, only four are female, which means a percentage of 16%. Therefore, it is important to know who they are and what are their government proposals.
1. Manuela D’Ávila
Image Source: Gibran Mendes/Fotos Públicas
Manuela D’Ávila is a journalist from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, and will run for president representing the Brazil’s Communist Party (Partido Comunista do Brasil – PCdoB). She was a federal deputy between the years of 2007 and 2015 and, before that, in 2004, she occupied the post of councilwoman in her hometown, when she was twenty two years old. Nowadays she is a state deputy.
This candidate, if elected, will be the youngest president in Brazil’s history, by the age of 37. Manuela is a women’s rights defensor, but her proposals go beyond: she proposes the monopolized land properties redistribution, more protection laws and guaranteed rights for the LGBT population, and the interruption of the labouriste reform that, for her, harms the workers’ rights. She also defends the resumption of the economic growth that would be achieved, among several other actions, with more social justice, interest rate decrease, and the investment in the national scientific research.
2. Marina Silva
Image Source: Agência Brasil
Marina Silva has a long experience in politics. In 1988, she started her official career when elected for councilwoman in her hometown, Rio Branco, the Acre state’s capital. After that, she has already been a state deputy, senator, and during Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government, occupied the post of Environment minister. Marina already ran for presidency in 2010 and 2014. and had an expressive number of votes: 19 million votes in the first time, and 22 million in the second, achieving the third position in both times.
On this year’s election, she is going to represent the Sustainability Rede Party (Partido Rede Sustentabilidade – REDE), and her campaign will focus mainly in the corruption’s eradication and the political reform, that looks for a fairer representation for the population in the executive and legislative powers.
3. Valéria Monteiro
Image Source: Fernando Petermann
Valéria Monteiro is not like her colleagues that are also competing for the presidency: she has never had a political occupation or another kind of experience in this area. This journalist and ex-TV presenter from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, will run for president representing the Mobilitization National Party (Partido da Mobilização Nacional – PMN).
Since february, she has been travelling around brazilian cities in order to make her figure more known to the voters and the population in general. Valéria declared that she doesn’t have a rigid and established government proposal, and that her intention is listening to the electors to realize what they need at the moment and expect for Brazil’s future.
4. Vera Lúcia
Image Source: PSTU
This sindical leader lives in Aracaju, Sergipe state’s capital, but was born in the brazilian northeastern countryside. Vera has been a factory shoemaker for a long time, and during this these years, started participating in the socialist, feminist and black movements. In 2018, she will run for president representing de Unified Socialist Workers Party (Partido Socialista dos Trabalhadores Unificados – PSTU).
Even though she will compete for the presidency, Vera and the party she is affiliate don’t actually believe in elections, defending the idea that it is impossible to achieve justice and equality for the workers in this actual electoral system, created by the ‘’bourgeoisie’’, and the powerful ones in the capitalism. Because of this, they defend, in the last instance, the socialist revolution.