They left behind the scenes, took on public roles in their husbands’ management and gained momentum in the spotlight on social media. Now, they will try to transform this political capital into votes in the October elections.
At least six women who served in the Presidency, governments or city halls of capitals will try their luck at the polls, in a movement that combines the advancement of female participation in politics with the continuity of family power projects.
Three former first ladies are pre-candidates for the Senate and appear as favorites in their states: (-DF), Gracinha Caiado (União Brasil-GO) and Rayssa Furlan (Podemos-AP).
Since he was convicted and arrested on charges of , Michelle has occupied spaces within the party and fought arm-wrestling with the former president’s children in defining state platforms.
In addition to her own candidacy for the Senate, she will act as a strong campaigner, prioritizing the election of conservative women to Congress.
In Goiás, Gracinha Caiado appears as a central piece in the strategy of the former governor’s group (). While articulating her candidacy for the Senate, she follows the national movements of her husband, who has launched himself as a candidate for President.
Gracinha’s career in politics began in the 1980s, when she was director of the UDR (União Democrática Ruralista) in Bahia. As first lady, she was honorary president of the Organization of Volunteers of Goiás, an entity whose budget has been boosted by state transfers in recent years.
In Amapá, doctor Rayssa Furlan will be a candidate for senator for the second time – in 2022, she ran for the position, but was defeated by Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil).
She returns to the electoral board this year, this time with her husband Antônio Furlan (PSD) as a candidate for governor. Husband and wife will be running mates. Still, she denies that it is a family clan in Amapá politics.
“The population knows how to differentiate family ties from personal trajectories. My husband and I built our relationship with Amapá through work, presence and direct contact with people”, says Rayssa, who advocates for more women to compete for elected positions.
The situation is similar in Alagoas. João Henrique Caldas (PSDB), JHC, resigned from Maceió City Hall in April to run for state government. His wife, Marina Candia, joined the same party and will run for federal deputy or Senate.
Among the mayor’s allies, the assessment is that she has attributes for the majority dispute: she has charisma, a good public image and could represent a renewal in a dispute that will have opponents such as Arthur Lira (PP) and Renan Calheiros ().
With a strong presence on social media, where she has around 500 thousand followers, Marina intensified her public agenda and adopted her husband’s name for the election: she now presents herself as Marina JHC. His family has a political trajectory in Mato Grosso, where his grandfather was vice-governor.
Mato Grosso, in fact, is another state that will have a former first lady on the ballot: wife of former governor Mauro Mendes, Virgínia Mendes will be a candidate for federal deputy in a double with her husband, who is running for the Senate. Both are affiliated with União Brasil.
The advancement of these candidacies reveals a duality: on the one hand, they increase the female presence in an environment historically dominated by men; on the other hand, they raise questions about a renewal anchored in family ties.
Historian Dayanny Rodrigues, PhD from the Federal University of Goiás, states that the current scenario of multiple candidacies by politicians’ wives had been emerging in recent years.
In a thesis presented in 2021, Dayanny defined “first ladyism” as a phenomenon with practices that can be strategic or tactical. In the first case, first ladies act to legitimize their husbands’ political projects; In the tactical dimension, they expand political influence, occupy spaces of power and build their own political capital.
This profile of the first lady with more influence has been gaining ground in Brazil since the 1980s, starting in the municipalities, where politicians’ wives began to contest elections.
Even outside the electoral arena, some of the first ladies began to play a leading role, says the researcher, who cites examples such as Ruth Cardoso, Michelle Bolsonaro and Janja da Silva.
“First Ladyism changed its appearance during the Republic. Before, women only worked behind the scenes. Today, even with more visibility, it is a role that opens doors, but narrows this door by demanding certain manners and behaviors”, he assesses.
In addition to the candidacies for the Chamber and the Senate, the October elections will have a wave of first ladies who will compete for the Legislative Assemblies, many of them wives of acting mayors.
In , the city’s first lady Regina Nunes (MDB) will be a candidate for state deputy. The mayor’s wife (MDB) is known for her activism in the animal cause and is identified as one of the party’s bets in the October election.
In Bahia, the first ladies of Camaçari, Itabuna, Teixeira de Freitas and Luís Eduardo Magalhães will compete for a seat in the Assembly. In Vitória da Conquista, the movement is opposite: the husband of mayor Sheila Lemos debuts at the polls as a candidate for state deputy.
