ABSTRACT
Brazil has strong and vocal women’s movements but a poor record of electing and appointing women to all levels of government. Focusing especially on the election of women to executive and legislative positions, this chapter assesses the complicated relationship between women and political power in Brazil. After a brief overview of women in politics, starting with the fight for suffrage and the election of the first female politicians, the chapter explores the role of women in party politics from the Vargas era until the early 1980s. We illuminate the entry of women into the contemporary political system through an examination of the dynamic between political parties and women’s movements as well as a discussion of the evolution of female candidates and women elected to executive and legislative positions. We conclude by analyzing two critical events in the representation of women in Brazilian politics: the establishment and reform of the candidate gender quota and the election and impeachment of Dilma Rousseff.
