The average profile of the candidate in the elections is male, black, married and with secondary education | Choice in numbers

This is the first time since 2014, when the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) began collecting racial data, in which the average candidate is black. In previous elections, the most common skin color was white.

For analysis, the G1 used the application data published by the TSE. There are, in total, more than 548,000 registered candidates to participate in this year’s elections.

TSE numbers can still change, with data updated by the agency or even with the rejection and resignation of candidates.

Of all the registered applications, 49.9% are from people who declared themselves brown or black. Together, brown and black form black, according to the IBGE classification. Whites represent 47.8% of the total. In addition, 0.4% declare themselves indigenous and another 0.4%, yellow. There is no career information for 1.6% of the records.

The proportion of black candidates in this year’s elections is the highest recorded by the TSE. Furthermore, it is the first time that whites have not exceeded 50% of the candidates. Therefore, the average profile of the candidates changed from white to black.

• The proportion of black candidates in the 2020 elections is the highest ever recorded; for the first time, whites are not the majority

Experts say that more and more Brazilians declare themselves black, which ends up being reflected in the candidacies.

“Brazilians are increasingly aware of their color. (…) When people are educated, they can grow stronger and adopt black identities, ”says Andrew Janusz, assistant professor in the department of political science at the University of Florida.

In addition, the professor of political science at UFMG, Cristiano Rodrigues, affirms that, in recent years, there have been “various movements that have caused an increase in black candidates.” “One of them is the Marielle effect. It has become a symbol and has motivated several blacks to enter politics.”

Regarding the rest of the characteristics, there was not much difference in relation to the average profile of the candidates in the last municipal elections, in 2016. The candidates are predominantly married (51%), with complete secondary education (38%) and with an average of 46 years.

Furthermore, the most common occupation is that of a farmer. However, as there are many registered occupations, the data is more fragmented in this case. Thus, although it is the most common, the profession of farmer was declared by only 6.8% of the candidates.

Regarding gender, 67% are men and 33% are women. The percentage of women, in fact, is very close to the minimum established by law for the quota of candidates that parties must meet, of 30%.

It should also be remembered that, according to IBGE, women correspond to more than half of Brazilians (52%).

According to Polianna Santos, a professor at PUC Minas and president-director of the Associação Visibilidade Feminina, despite the low percentage of female candidates, this year’s elections bring changes.

“We may not identify a quantitative change, since the percentage of candidates remains at 30%, but we can see a qualitative change from having real applications, with material conditions, due to the financial quota,” he says.

Like the quota of female candidates on party lists, the financial quota reserves a portion of the resources for female candidates.

• Even with a history of candidacies for councilors, the percentage of women nominated does not increase in capital cities and remains close to what the law requires

Santos points out, however, that there are still many structural problems and prejudices against women in politics.

“There is a cultural question of thinking that the place of women is at home and not occupying a space of power in politics. That is why it is sung, scorned, mocked. When she is elected, they talk about her clothes, her body, ”she says.

Different profile depending on the position

The profile of the candidates, however, changes considerably in some aspects depending on the position disputed. Although the average profile of the candidates for councilor follows the general average, those of the candidates for mayor and vice mayor have other degrees of training, occupations and careers.

While the majority of the councilman candidates are black (51%), the majority of those running for mayor and vice president are white (63% and 59%, respectively).

In addition, candidates for mayor and vice-president are more educated: the most common level of education among them is that of a college degree. Among the candidates for councilor, the most common is to have completed high school.

Another difference is that of occupation: the most common among candidates for the municipal executive is that of businessman, while that of farmer has a higher percentage among those who run for the legislature.

There are other points that, even without changing the profile, are different between competitors. For example, there are many more men among the mayoral candidates (87%) than the councilman candidates (66%). The former are also “more” married (68%) than the latter (50%).

“The main reason for these differences between the two, Executive and Legislative, is that, in the Legislative, the councilors have more seats in dispute. This allows the profile of the candidates to be more diverse. It’s easier for people to get elected ”. says Lucas Gelape, a doctoral candidate in political science from the University of São Paulo (USP).

The researcher also points out that the profiles of candidates for mayor and vice mayor are more similar to those of deputies.

“They are more educated and with occupations such as businessman and lawyer. Councilor, no. Councilor shows more diversity, even closer to the population, ”says Gelape. “And, in fact, the position of councilor is usually closer to the people. An important part of the councilors’ job is to serve the population, to talk to the people.”

Gelape affirms that this proximity, or even representativeness, is important for the production of public policies and also for the perception of the electorate itself, which is perceived as more represented or not, depending on the characteristics of the politicians.

In addition, he also says that the differences in the data reflect that the position of councilor is usually the beginning of the political career of many.

“[Ser] The councilor is not the only gateway to politics, but it is an important gateway. These data reflect this somewhat, of candidates more similar to the population, showing that this gateway seems to have easier access to the population. ”

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