Centrist party confirms an all-female presidential ticket

Senator Simone Tebet. Photo: ABr

Senator Simone Tebet, the presidential candidate for the Brazilian Democratic Movement party (MDB), on Tuesday confirmed that her running mate will be Senator Mara Gabrilli of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB).

Ms. Tebet’s candidacy — an attempt to provide voters with a “third way” alternative to the divisive frontrunners, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the center-left Workers’ Party and far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro — is dead on arrival. Backed by an alliance comprising Cidadania, the PSDB, and part of the MDB (some local chapters have already withdrawn their support and said they will back Lula instead), she is polling around 2 percent.

Still, her decision to lead an all-female ticket is symbolic.

“Mara, I had my doubts as to whether a 100-percent female ticket would be accepted. How great that qualitative [polls] have shown that men and women are ready to vote for this ticket,” Ms. Tebet said Tuesday. Ms. Gabrilli, who is quadriplegic and has spoken of the importance of celebrating Brazil’s diversity, is currently serving her first term as senator representing São Paulo state.

Senator Tasso Jereissati of the PSDB, who had initially been tipped to be Ms. Tebet’s running mate, said that the parties backing the MDB candidate have “united our best [people] to give back to Brazil the joy of public life” and celebrated the Tebet-Gabrilli alliance as “the perfect [presidential] ticket.”

This year’s election will only be the second to feature all-female presidential tickets since Brazil’s return to democracy.

The first was in 2006, when the now extinct Progressive Republican Party ran a women-only ticket which received just 0.13 percent of the first-round vote.

This year, there will be three female presidential hopefuls, two of whom are running with a female vice-presidential candidate. On Sunday, Vera Lúcia of the Trotskyist United Socialist Workers’ Party (PSTU) announced Raquel Tremembé, an indigenous woman, as her running mate.

Ms. Lúcia is polling on 1 percent.