Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract In 2020, according to data from the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), women saw an increase in their participation in the electoral race for municipal legislatures. Similarly, the number of self-declared Black candidates also rose. Yet despite higher participation among both groups, and even with the support of affirmative action policies in that election cycle, we still observe a persistent pattern of underrepresentation of Black women. Existing scholarship shows that several variables shape the electoral participation of minoritized groups. Drawing on a qualitative approach, this article examines the trajectories and challenges faced by Black women candidates for city council in the 2020 elections, with the aim of identifying the key obstacles they themselves highlight as obstacles to their campaign development. In doing so, we seek to shed light on the dynamics that contribute to the continued underrepresentation of this group in Brazilian politics. Our research corpus consists of interviews conducted with Black women candidates in Brazil’s Northeast region. Overall, we identify key elements described by our interlocutors as central to the challenges they faced during the electoral process – factors that extend beyond campaign financing and include mental health, racial and gender-based violence, and limited familiarity with legal and electoral regulations, among others.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract The objective of this article is to examine the participation of union actors in the legislative decision-making process related to the social security reform enacted under the Bolsonaro administration (2019–2022), with particular attention to the role of the trade union caucus – comprising both deputies and senators – in the legislative consideration of Constitutional Amendment Bill N° 06 of 2019 (PEC 06/2019). The central research question guiding the study was: how did the union caucus act to defend workers’ interests in a political and institutional context unfavorable to parliamentary opposition to the social security reform? From a methodological standpoint, the study focused on the main stages of the decision-making process associated with the social security reform: 01. the submission of the bill to the legislature; 02. the union caucus’s initial position on the bill; 03. the bill’s consideration in legislative committees; 04. plenary debate and roll-call voting; 05. final approval of the reform bill; and 06. the union caucus’s stance on the text as approved. The research drew on three principal methods: 01. documentary analysis; 02. systematic coding and organization of the empirical material; and 03. interpretive analysis of the findings. The results support the argument that public policy change, notably social security reform, does not result from the straightforward imposition of presidential will on the National Congress. Rather, it emerges from a protracted, often contentious process of political negotiation involving the executive and legislative branches, as well as organized interest groups.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Although research on gender inequality in political representation often focuses on issues such as institutional constraints, the role of political parties, campaign costs, or shortcomings in the design of gender quotas, fewer studies examine women’s political careers directly. This article analyzes women’s political careers beginning at the city council level, the most accessible and available elected office in the Brazilian political system. To do so, we conduct a long-term analysis (2002–2020) of the prior and subsequent electoral trajectories of city councilors elected in 2008, using descriptive statistics and multiple regression models. Our results show that women councilors have a higher predicted probability of being classified in trajectories characterized either by exit from political careers (‘retiree’) or by continued participation without additional electoral success (‘resilient’). Men, in contrast, have a higher predicted probability of following trajectories marked by electoral success and/or attempts to pursue higher office (‘veteran’, ‘contender’, and ‘achiever’).

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract Brazilian municipalities simultaneously function as local administrative units, service providers, electoral districts, and the primary units for aggregating statistical, fiscal, and demographic data. Although their heterogeneity is widely acknowledged, the underlying structure of this heterogeneity is rarely examined. In this article, we argue that this heterogeneity should be understood as discrete, rather than as continuous variations of a single territorial form, and we propose a typology to explore these differences. The typology is derived from cluster analysis of Brazilian municipalities and allows us to examine differences across these units using panel data on fiscal, demographic, and political variables from 2005 to 2024. The results identify five distinct groups of municipalities. A large majority consists of very small and poor municipalities characterized by low levels of urbanization, dependence on intergovernmental transfers, limited local state capacity, and a right-leaning political landscape. The remaining groups differ in terms of scale, urbanization, economic structure, administrative capacity, political dynamics, and revenue and expenditure patterns. This analysis suggests that Brazilian municipalities constitute intrinsically different types of units, especially in fiscal terms, raising methodological concerns about their generic use as a unit of analysis in studies of public policy, local government, federalism, and fiscal issues.

Resumo em Inglês:

Abstract The recent concern with the crisis of democracy has overshadowed interest among political scientists in the study of democratization processes that unfolded during the nineteenth century. ‘The Birth of Democracy in South America’ revisits and advances the discussion of this period, with particular attention to Latin America. Drawing on extensive research based on primary sources, the book breaks new ground by combining distinct explanatory approaches centered on military strength and political competition. Taken together, these contributions renew debates about democratization and its causes in Latin America.