The concurrent debate that is taking place in the National Congress, without the necessary transparency and maturation, is changing important foundations of the current electoral system in Brazil and could seriously jeopardize the future of women’s representation in the country’s politics – at a time when much of the world is discussing measures for gender parity.

Some of the details of constitutional amendment proposals (PECs) that are being processed in the House and Senate – in parallel with the closely complementary 905-article bill that sets out the new Electoral Code – present different rules and could jeopardize the effectiveness of quota policies. , with at least 30% of applications from women.

Suffrage experts consulted by DW Brasil point to concerns about the drafting of articles on these proposals and criticize the lack of transparency in the debate, raising doubts about the haste with which Congress wants to pass the new rules before October this year. to the fact that it may already be in force in the 2022 elections.

“We are all very concerned about this legislative flow when there are so many changes happening at the same time. First, because these proposals do not interact with each other. They are at odds with each other. And we have an Electoral Code that has been in effect since 1965. Why Do they suddenly want to change everything? What is the urgency of this? ”Asks Ana Claudia Santano, general coordinator of the Transparência Eleitoral Brasil and professor of electoral and constitutional law. “This code is not just a set of rules. It changes a lot, ”he warns.

Backlash risk

One problem pointed out by women advocating for expanding women’s space in the legislature and executive is that the texts of at least PEC 18/2021, approved in the Senate on July 14, bring old issues back to the table. Despite the good intentions of parliamentarians and the work of the women’s bench in the Senate, the PEC’s wording fails.

The text “establishes new rules for the allocation of resources in electoral campaigns, specifying that each party must reserve a minimum of 30% and a maximum of 70% for proportional candidates for each gender.” Here’s the problem: the expression “must be reserved.” This expression has already caused problems in the past, as Brazilian parties, all with a patriarchal vision, are not obliged to nominate female candidates with such wording. Reserving does not mean filling.

In 2009, the High Electoral Court (TSE) realized that the expression needed to be changed and ordered that parties should nominate candidates with at least 30% women.

It was this understanding of “commitment” that opened many years later the possibility of ensuring that funding was also proportional to the number of candidates, that is, 30% of the resources of electoral and party funds should be allocated to women candidates. , observing, obviously, proportionality: if women candidates are 40%, they receive, for example, 40% of financial resources.

This rule also upheld a decision by the Supreme Court (STF) in 2020 to ensure proportional funding not only for women candidates, but also for black candidates of both genders.

“The text of the Senate uses an old formula that did not work, namely: to instruct parties to simply reserve seats. Reservation is very different from filling. This leaves an optional quota, ”criticizes the Transparência Eleitoral Brasil coordinator.

“In Brazil, the quota policy has taken a long time to produce results. We have changed little since 1995 and reached the last elections with 15% of the seats for women in the House, which is the peak after the re-democratization process. Therefore, any measure that cancels the quota policy – this is bad Quotas exist to try to change reality. [para candidaturas femininas] influenced the increase in the number of elected representatives, although this is not a causal relationship, ”says Professor Luciana Oliveira Ramos, member of the Study Group on Law, Gender and Identity of the School of Law of São Paulo (FGV Direito SP).

Seat reservations are limited and must coexist with quotas.

The FGV professor acknowledges that the Senate’s intention to maintain the quota policy and at the same time to define the minimum reservation of seats for women in the legislature is positive, but has reservations. The Senate text provides for a gradual reserve of seats, starting at 18% of the seats in the next elections and reaching 30% in 2038.

One of the caveats concerns interest reserves. “Allocating 18% of seats may seem good right away, but if we think about time and scale, reaching 30% in 2038, which is almost two decades from now, that’s very small. The average representation of women in the Americas is 32.% today. In just two decades, we will reach that average. The current global average is 25%, “says Ramos. She also emphasizes that the United Nations has gender parity in Agenda 5050 as early as 2030.

“This target of 30% by 2038 will reflect a huge delay in the development of Brazilian society. We must strive for a higher 50% cross-sectional representation of women, blacks and indigenous people. This will be far from what was expected and what is expected. This is being discussed in the world today, namely gender parity. This is written for the UN Sustainable Development Goals, ”says the FGV professor.

It is also imperative that these proposals before Congress do not replace the seat reservation quota policy, Ramos said. He emphasizes that the two initiatives must coexist.

“Since reserving seats alone is not enough to increase women’s representation in politics. By simply reserving seats, we lose the whole process of maturing institutions, actors and actresses participating in the political game in elections, such as raising awareness of party politicians to actually nominate women who are viable and have a real chance of being elected. “

The teacher also emphasizes that another important policy concerns the financing and allocation of public resources for women and black candidates. “It is not enough to just put the names of these people on the list, it is important to actually solidify these nominations.”

“There is no risk,” says a spokesperson for the Electoral Code.

For Congressman Margaret Coelho (PP-PI), Rapporteur on the Electoral Code, “the text consolidates the successes achieved by the women’s bench in both the House and Senate, such as candidate quotas and funding for women, among other new. new opportunities so that we have more and more women in politics, ”she said in a message sent to DW Brasil.

The MP protects the preservation of quotas for women candidates. “Quotas for nominating candidates are still an important achievement, although they are not enough. There is a need for parties to encourage the formation of new women leaders, especially financially. The end of quotas will be accompanied by an end to the minimum funding for women candidates, which no parliamentarian does. Any such offer is an unacceptable rollback, “he said.

However, another PEC proposal for political reform, already approved in two rounds in the House and awaiting a Senate vote, defines different percentages of reserved seats for women, eliminating quotas.

The approved text calls for a double count of votes cast for candidates and blacks in the 2022 election. This rule will be used to calculate the proportion of Party Fund and Campaign Finance Special Fund (Election Fund) resources for these applications. …

For law professors, the PEC text on political reform was approved in a hurry, with numerous changes, without debate and could, yes, completely abolish the quota policy, which would be a risk. It would be wiser, MP Margaret Coelho admits, to keep the quota policy combined with reservations. According to her, the Senate proposal seems to be more advanced in this sense.

“Until parity is achieved, we must build rung by rung on the ladder that will lead us to a more inclusive parliament. Reserving seats is an important step towards ensuring a minimum representation, which, along with maintaining a nomination quota, will allow more women to be promoted to political protagonism. ”