WHEN MONEY IS NOT ENOUGH

EFFECTS OF GENDER AND RACE ELECTORAL FUNDING QUOTAS IN BRAZIL

Abstract

This paper analyzes the electoral financing of municipal elections for councilors in the state of Piauí in the 2020 elections. It is a quantitative research with the main aim is to analyzing the political performance from the social markers of gender and race in light of decisions that modified the quota system of the Special Fund for Campaigns Financing–FEFC, which ensured a quota of at least 30% for women or in the same proportion of their candidacies. The analyses were based on data collected from the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). The analytical corpus consists of 18,499 candidates distributed in 224 cities in the state of Piaui, in the elections 2016 and 2020, allowing for a more homogeneous analysis of the phenomenon. It is noted that, despite the implementation of the quota system, whose purpose was to reduce the disparities in the political representation system, this increase in revenues based on gender and race in elections in the state of Piaui did not fully achieve all initial objectives, only achieving partial results. It is noticed that female candidates received more revenue, but did not guarantee better performances. In this sense, the pursuit of a more egalitarian and inclusive political system emerges as an important observation. Research like this enables tracking the topic through its change, bringing its effectiveness into discussions. It is also emphasized that the research focuses solely on one federal unit of the country, and that other research at regional levels will allow for comparisons and the emergence regarding recent and future elections. It is also worth that this research focused solely on one federal unit of the country; further research at regional and national levels will enable comparisons and the identification of trends regarding past and upcoming elections.