Rio Grande do Norte is the state that most elected governors since redemocratization
Of the 27 federative units of Brazil, only 7 women for the position of head of the State Government since redemocratization in 1986. Rio Grande do Norte leads the ranking With 5 female terms, followed by Maranhão, with 3 terms, and Pará, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul and Rondônia with an elected woman governor, each. In 2006, Brazil had a record of women ahead of state governments, with 3 elected.
Currently the only governors, (PSD-on) e (PT-RN), govern together just over 9.8 million Brazilian voters-which represents 6.2% of the country’s voters. It is the largest percentage since 2002, when (PSB-RJ) and (PSB-RN) were governors of 10.69% of voters at the time.
Raquel and Fatima were two of the 38 women who applied in 19 federative units in 2022, according to data from the (Superior Electoral Court). This was the largest number of women claiming governments of states since 1985. In the 1st election after military dictatorship, in 1986, 3 women ran for office.
In 1994, Maranhão elected then in the PFL. She was the first woman to win a state government. At the time, she realized that “It was a great disadvantage”. Party polls showed that 9% of voters said they didn’t vote for women at all.
In 1998, she reelected herself and, in 2010, returned to office by the then PMDB (today, MDB). With 3 terms, it is the policy that was the most ahead of a State Government.
Roseana Sarney says that “ruling”It was a pride and helped the “Open this path” for those who came later. According to her, it was an opportunity to show the strength, capacity and competence to occupy any space.
(Infographic here – Map already done)
Before Roseana, (PMDB) took power in Acre. She, who was deputy of (PMDB), was in office for 305 days in 1986, following the resignation of the holder to run for a place in the Senate. Nevertheless, the date that marks its first time in the chair is in 1983, when it was interim during a trip from Nabor to Pará for a meeting.
The situation is common. Since Iolanda, 6 other women have been “promoted” to office for being vice. According to political analyst Mariana London, “It is easier for the party to accept a woman as deputy, [porque] It brings representativeness, but it is not head of plate. Eventually, by a departure from the governor, for running another position, or another reason, she becomes governor.”
For her, this shows the limited space and low representativeness women have in politics. Looking at the Federal Executive Power, Brazil’s list of presidents has 1 woman among 38 men. Dilma Rousseff (PT) was elected in 2010, reelected in 2014 and suffered impeachment process in 2016.
Electoral turn
In 2000 there was a turn in the number of voters. For the first time, women represented the majority and were 50.48% of Brazilian voters. The difference of voters between men and women was just over 1 million people. In 2024, women were 81.8 million voters. About 52.5% of the country’s electorate.
Even though they are a majority, women are little represented in the executive branch and, according to Mariana, the parties do not encourage female candidates. For her, this is a “problem”Structural and historical that impacts the low offer of candidates and, consequently, in a fewer elected.
The analyst also said that seeing women in spaces of power is not a difficulty of men alone, but “a question of our society”.
Largest Electoral Colleges
Only one woman was elected to govern one of Brazil’s main electoral colleges. In 2002, (PSB) was elected governor of Rio de Janeiro. When the term ended, Brazil was recorded by the electorate ruled by women in one state, 8.95%. Rio is the 3rd largest electoral college in Brazil, with 13,033,929 voters, according to the (Superior Electoral Court).
For Mariana London, even if all federative units in Brazil have their importance, governing a large electoral college has a political weight “different”. As well as there would be a governor in the state of São Paulo, given the relevance of the state in population terms for the country, according to the analyst.
Rio Grande do Norte stands out
Rio Grande do Norte leads the female premieres in politics. Looking at the governors, the state had 3 different women occupying the position. Since two of them managed to reelect themselves.
then on the PSB, was the 1st governor of the state in 2002. She got reelection in the following election, in 2nd round, with 52.38% of the valid votes.
In 2010, it was the turn of at the time at DEM, elect to the post. She won the elections in the first round, with 52.52% of the votes.
In the 2014 elections it was the turn of (PT) reach the position of governor. Politics achieved reelection in the 2022 elections, in the first round and with 58.31% of the votes.
Rio Grande do Norte was also the state to elect the 1st Mayor in Brazil. In 1928, at the age of 32, Alzira Soriano, then in the Republican Party, was elected with 60% of the valid votes to command Lajes City Hall, according to the TSE –4 years before women conquer the in Brazil. Which also made it the 1st mayor elected in Latin America.
Alzira managed to elect even before the right to female vote, established by . Allowing Potiguar Professor Celina Guimarães Vianna to become the first Brazilian electoral.
This report was produced by the trainees of Poder360 Leticia Linhares and João Caires under supervision of the Secretary of Assistant Writing Sabrina Freire.
