Former ministers of the Bolsonaro government, senators (-DF) and (PP-MS) gained a prominent role among them due to their more independent stance.
With good traffic on the left and in the center, the senator from Mato Grosso is on the (-SP) ticket for President.
“When they need a woman on the ticket, they take our name and put it there, but they don’t talk to us”, says the senator, about the traditional composition always having a man as the head of the ticket.
Despite appearing well in the polls among presidential candidates linked to Bolsonarism, she was always seen as a possible candidate for vice on a presidential ticket headed by (Republicans).
The former first lady is . It is recognized as “a phenomenon in Brazilian politics” by the president of PL, .
“You preside over PL Mulher with a competence and charisma that I have rarely seen in so many years of politics. You have the gift of communicating with the people, which is impressive. You can’t learn that. Brazil needs your leadership. The PL needs you”, he says, in a video message posted on Instagram on March 22, Michelle’s birthday.
Behind the scenes, the candidacy of his stepson Flávio, enthroned by his father as “chief heir” of the clan’s political estate, is fought, when it is known that the relationship between them was never friendly.
In any case, party coordination still bypasses women, according to Damares.
“We do not participate in the major decisions of our parties. We are communicated. In both the right-wing and left-wing parties, we are useful to mobilize”, says the senator, who was former Minister of Human Rights in the Bolsonaro government. “Michelle drags crowds. Tereza drags. I drag. But at the right time we are not consulted.”
Tereza Cristina endorses the opinion. It finds that women are invited to formal political meetings, but not to those where the meetings are held, where “things really happen”.
“In my state, I don’t go fishing with just men. There there are joints, concoctions and combinations. For us, it’s already half-prepared”, he says. “Women have to try to break this bubble.”
The senator from Mato Grosso do Sul understands that the female way of doing politics is different.
“Men need to have a more feminine look. Women are more serious. It is much more difficult to make an inappropriate or non-republican proposal to a woman than to a man. Women are not used to business. Maybe we have more public spirit.”
For Damares, the Brazilian political scenario is heading towards an unprecedented phenomenon in the 2026 elections: the consolidation of conservative women as a mass force. She makes a distinction between being conservative and Christian, although the two profiles are based on her electoral base.
“In the past, there was a modesty about being conservative. Today, many women identify with our agenda.”
Damares assesses that the women’s bench showed a “show of maturity”. According to her, the senators decided to ignore divergent agendas, such as , to focus on convergences, such as increasing the penalty for rapists and paternity leave.
“Brazil thought we were just here to take care of baby issues and . We proved that we are good at tax reform, agriculture, and the fight against . It’s not just the ‘lipstick bench’; we showed that we are ready to discuss any topic.”
This is how Tereza Cristina also sees it. “My agenda is much more pro-development. I love international politics, in addition to agriculture, which is my sector. Women have a place wherever they want.”
One example was proving that it was possible for an opposition senator to take on the role of rapporteur for the trade agreement between and .
“We are working for Brazil here. I am conservative and opposition, but if the government is making an agenda that is good for the country, I will applaud”, he states, defending a civilized coexistence with those who think differently.
Regarding her relationship with her leftist colleagues, Damares surprises by reporting real sisterhood. “We like each other, we drink tea and cry together. It’s difficult for men to understand this complicity. I get beaten up by conservatives for embracing left-wing women, but the dialogue is easy because they know that my motivations are legitimate.”
Damares’s certain independence has been costly. The senator reveals that her social networks have been closed for months due to messages attacking conservatives. “They call me a communist because I defend ECA Digital to protect children, while the left calls me an extremist. I stay in this limbo, but I follow my campaign promises.”
The highest point of tension, however, is with the evangelical leadership. Recently, with the pastor, leader of the Vitória em Cristo Assembly of God Church.
Malafaia called her “flippant, loud-mouthed, cynical and a liar” and “unworthy of having the vote of evangelicals”, after the senator denounced evangelical churches and pastors for involvement in the fraud scheme in .
“Malafaia is a third-rate pastor who doesn’t understand the feminine universe. He needs to learn how to deal with a woman. When you call a woman ‘flippant’, you are putting her honor at risk”, criticizes the senator, one of the main neo-Pentecostal leaders in the country. “I’ve picked fights with pastors my whole life because I’m a pastor who doesn’t fit into the box they set up.”
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