Ethnic representation in Brazil’s Congress: a long road ahead

The U.S. midterm elections featured the most diverse group of candidates in the country’s history. For the first time ever, Muslim and indigenous women were elected to the House. In Massachusetts, a state known for harboring racist tendencies, voters elected Ayanna Pressley – its first-ever black congresswoman. While a few disputes have yet to be called, it appears that Americans have elected a record-high 53 African Americans. But the real breakthrough is that eight white-majority districts elected black members of Congress this year.

In Brazil, however, racial minorities are still far from being well-represented in Congress. Of the 513 members of the House elected last month, only 125 declare themselves as black or brown—54 percent of the country’s population is non-white. The number shows progress from...