Black women in Brazilian politics face a thick glass ceiling

Messages urging Afro-Brazilians to support black candidates filled social media in the run up to Brazil’s municipal elections on November 15. “Don’t forget your mask, your ID, a pen, and that you are BLACK!!!”

“This Sunday my vote will be black.”

Black and multiracial people make up 56 percent of Brazil’s almost 212 million population. In terms of official census data, these two Afro-descendant racial classifications are lumped together as the “negro” population, a term which does not hold the clear racist connotations that it does in English-speaking countries, but is equally frowned upon by Brazilian black rights movements — for which the preferred classification would be “black” or “Afro-descendant.”

However, while representing a majority of the population, Afro-descendant Brazilians only hold 17.8 percent of seats in Congress. This gap is narrowing gradually, as black political participation is surging in Brazil, particularly at the local level of government.

Some 250,840 Afro-descendent Brazilians ran for city council this year, up from 235,105 in 2016. When the winners take office on January 1, black officials will comprise a promising 44 percent of city council seats nationwide.

Afro-Brazilian women also saw significant firsts in the 2020 election, winning 14 percent of city council seats, up from just 3.9 percent in 2016.

While black candidates are increasingly winning space in municipal politics, there is a marked glass ceiling for Afro-descendant women when it comes to federal or executive positions. Just 13 of the...