Why Brazilian congressmen prefer local office to federal posts

Congressmen João Campos ditched a House seat for the Recife City Hall. Photo: Campaign

In the world of politics, local elected offices are frequently seen as stepping stones for politicians with higher goals. It is a way to build popularity and climb the political ladder to a seat in Congress, a governor’s office, or — for the truly ambitious — to the presidential palace. However, while this premise is often repeated in Brazil, traditionally the opposite has been true, with federal-level politicians choosing to aim locally.

In 2020, more than 10 percent of the House of Representatives ran in the municipal elections. Of the 70 that did so, a total of 11 were elected — three in the first round and eight in the runoff stage. The list includes major constituencies such as Recife, Maceió, São Luís, and Belém.

Political scientist David Samuels was the first to explicitly identify this trend in his 2003 book “Ambition, Federalism, and...

Beatriz Rey

Beatriz Rey is an SNF Agora Visiting Fellow at Johns Hopkins University and an APSA Congressional Fellow (2021-2022). She holds a Ph.D. in political science from Syracuse University and an M.A. in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.