Feminism and Democracy in Brazil

Abstract

This chapter discusses the contemporary features of feminist politics in Brazil, from the transition to democracy in the 1980s to the increase in feminist political participation in the 2000s. Consequently, it considers the agenda and the patterns of organization in the democratic cycle inaugurated in the 1980s, here analyzed, examining the prevailing traces in the decades of 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. In the 1980s, when new legal frameworks and practices were possible after 20 years of dictatorship, the creation of a national council for women’s rights (Conselho Nacional dos Direitos das Mulheres, in 1985) and the agenda presented within the debates about the new Constitution (Carta das Mulheres aos Constituintes, published in 1987) allow for a comprehension of the feminist agenda and strategies during transition politics. In the 1990s, the ambivalent patterns of feminism, with the adoption of the gender agenda by international organizations, are considered, focused on Brazilian peculiarities. The 2000s are the period when women’s participation within the state increased, and feminism became more plural and widespread in Brazilian society. However, its second decade can be characterized by an intense reaction to the agenda of gender equality and to feminist movements as political actors, converging with the adoption of the neoliberal agenda after the deposition of President Dilma Rousseff in 2016.