The resignation of the minister of, on Tuesday (25), and the POR (), rise to three the number of women exchanged by men in the first level of the government.
Before, Ana Moser had already been replaced by André Fufuca (PP-MA) in sport, and (União Brasil-RJ) given place to Celso Sabino (União Brasil-PA) in tourism.
Already a man leave office for a woman occurred only once, when Silvio Almeida was fired from the human rights portfolio on accusations of sexual harassment against also minister Anielle Franco (racial equality). In his place, state deputy Macaé Evaristo (PT-MG).
As a result, the terrace becomes even less equal, at least as Padilha’s substitute (or substitute) in institutional relations is not defined. There are 9 ministers in 38 folders.
Repeated exchanges in the first echelon of the government are associated with a structural factor: the difficulty that women face to build political and partisan capital in Brazil.
Their lowest presence in the high party commands and the legislature’s domes create an addiction of origin that reduces the chances of a parity terrace. That is, there are fewer women positioned to head folders when the government needs to make a chair dance to raise subtitles support or accommodate a negotiating profile.
This means that it is easier for the government to exchange them, and less likely that there is another woman in line to replace them.
It is well known that there are greater difficulties for women to enter and remain in politics and that this is reflected, for example, in the number of elected. In 2022, the elected deputies occupied 18% of the chairs of the House, when women form 52% of the Brazilian population.
Reaching spaces of power, however, is just one of the steps of building political capital. Within party structures, women are minority as presidents of acronyms, bench leaders and even symbolic leaders, who are not necessarily a position within the caption but carry an institutional and political weight.
There is yet another aggravation: their presence in the first echelon of the government tends to be more techniques than political indications for a party vacancy, precisely because political ministries tend to be filled by men.
This in itself does not necessarily mean a greater chance of falling –José Gomes Temporão, the longest minister of health among all petist management, was considered technical.
But when the need arises to satisfy a party appetite, ministers without political force of support tend to be raffled more easily, as removing the folder from one party and delivering to another has a high political cost to the government.
In the case of Ana Moser, for example, the government dismissed the minister to, ally of the then mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL).
Although rarer, there are ministers of political profile, as Daniela Carneiro was. In her case, it was key to departure from office. Known in the ballot box as Daniela do Waguinho, in reference to her husband, then mayor of Belford Roxo, was the most voted wife in Rio de Janeiro in 2022.
She was nominated by Lula because of the efforts of her political group in the election and also as one of the names of União Brasil on the Esplanada. When he fell in 2023, he had lost his back to represent the party on the Esplanade and came to. Ended up replaced by another deputy of the bench.
The importance of party political capital is evident in the dispute for the open vacancy at the Secretariat Institutional Relations, previously headed by Padilha. The president of the PT, is in the match to head the portfolio, responsible for the political articulation of the Planalto and therefore seen as strategic. She has also been quoted for Lula.
Another party leader in the first echelon of the government is, national president of the PC of B. It is no coincidence, therefore, that it has built it to occupy the portfolio of science and technology as an indication of the acronym, which supported Lula during the 2022 campaign.
The point is that Gleisis and Lucianas are exceptions in Brazilian politics, where men dominate the structures of power – they act to perpetuate in them.
