Lula has pledged to prioritize gender inequality by focusing on fighting hunger, unemployment and promoting wage equity.
In the second round of the presidential elections in Brazil, left-wing candidate and ex-president Luiz Inaciao Lula da Silva won the vote. The role of the women electorate in the election was highlighted by scholars of Brazil. Women, who make up 51.1% of the Brazilian population, represent 53% of the electorate. In other words, the number of female voters is 8 million more than the number of male voters.
Experts have underlined that that black and poor women played a key role in Lula’s victory over his far-right rival Bolsonaro. While experts also said that in previous years this difference was not critical for presidential candidates, anthropologist Rosana Pinheiro-Machado, professor at University College Dublin in Ireland, stated that men were the core of supporters of Bolsonaro, and that until recently, Brazilian women were less politically involved and often voted similarly to their spouses. Pinheiro-Machado, who explores the impact of both the far right and feminism in Brazil’s marginalized communities, said: “Since the feminist spring of 2015, thanks to the internet and the popularization of feminism on TV, radio, and schools, and as a result, politics has become a important topic among all women, the situation started to change,” she says.
Lula and the Bolsa Familia
Pinheiro-Machado states that as a result of this increased political awareness among women and the increase in hunger and poverty during Bolsonaro’s presidency, women, and especially poor women, began to take a stand against Bolsonaro. Even before the elections, polls indicated that a majority of women would vote for Lula. According to a survey conducted by the Datafolha Institute from October 17-19, Lula da Silva was leading among women. While 51% of women surveyed said they were considering voting for Lula, 42% said they would vote for Bolsonaro.
During his presidency from 2003-2011, Lula da Silva launched the Bolsa Familia cash transfer program, which makes it easier for low-income families to send their children to school and get their vaccinations. Pinheiro-Machado believes this and other government programs are changing women’s lives in a “multidimensional way”. As she argued a low-income woman who benefited from this program when Lula da Silva was prime minister will remember the financial autonomy she gained thanks to the Bolsa Familia, how much she improved her family health, how much she contributed to her children’s attendance at school.”
The fight against poverty and inequality declined under Bolsonaro
Bolsonaro’s government recently cut its budget for combating violence against women by 90 percent. The government also canceled the government program aimed at promoting gender equality and combating gender-based violence, replacing it with a program focused on “strengthening the family” and “defending life from the moment of conception”.
Investments were also cut in the Brazilian Women’s House (Casa da Mulher Brasileira, a public institution providing services for women) and the Women’s Call Center (which records complaints, guides victims of violence, and provides information on laws and campaigns).
Brazilian researcher Djamila Ribeiro underlined that the current government has implemented policies that regress not only the fight against gender-based violence, but also the fight against poverty and inequality through cuts in social programs that empower women economically: “All these policies affect women, the economy, health, housing, education.”
What are Lula da Silva’s policy recommendations for gender equality?
The report by the Institute for Socioeconomic Studies found that the Bolsonaro government’s funding to combat violence against women in 2022 was lower than ever before.
Lula da Silva, on the other hand, promised to change this distribution of resources with a plan that promised to prioritize gender inequality by focusing on the fight against hunger and unemployment and wage equality.
Lula da Silva’s election promises include the establishment of a Ministry of Women, the re-establishment of a special program to combat gender violence, and the strengthening of Femicide and Maria da Penha laws aimed at protecting women from domestic violence. Lula also recommends creating a housing program for women, particularly single mothers, black and poor women, and expanding the country’s network of aged and child care centers and full-time schools.
Source: CNN