More than 500 openly LGBTQ candidates are running in Brazil’s general election

More than 500 openly LGBTQ candidates are running in Brazil’s October 4 general election. The Washington Blade reported 529 candidacies, while a Brazilian account of VoteLGBT data collected on September 24 counted 526. The sources do not explain the three-name difference; the civil-society registry continues to change and is not a final official count from Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court.

According to VoteLGBT data reported by Pimenta Rosa , candidates come from all 27 federal units and 27 parties. Of the 526 people, 512 are seeking legislative seats and 14 executive offices. The largest groups are 266 candidates for state legislatures and 217 for the federal Chamber of Deputies.

The survey classifies 417 candidates, or 79.28 percent, as affiliated with left-wing parties, 56 with right-wing parties and 53 with centrist parties. Openly LGBTQ candidates therefore span the political spectrum, although a clear majority are running with parties of the left.

The Washington Blade says 109 candidates are transgender or travesti, a distinct social and political identity widely used in Brazil. They include incumbent federal lawmakers Erika Hilton and Duda Salabert. Former lawmaker Jean Wyllys, the first openly gay man elected to Brazil’s Congress, has returned after leaving the country amid threats and is running again. Mônica Benício, widow of murdered Rio councilwoman Marielle Franco, is seeking a Senate seat.

The candidates emphasize different agendas. Uédem Lima of the centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement lists education, health, climate policy and Indigenous rights among his priorities. Mãe Kaká Garcia of the left-wing Socialism and Liberty Party focuses on violence, racism and religious intolerance. Bruna Benavides, president of the National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals, told the Blade that trans candidates also work on labor, public safety, environmental and inequality issues beyond LGBTQ policy.

VoteLGBT’s count is based on self-identification and voluntary participation. The Plena Cidadania Institute project has mapped LGBTQ candidates nationwide since 2022, invited them to complete questionnaires and published profiles with their consent. Its numbers show the scale of identified representation but do not necessarily include every LGBTQ person on the ballot.

Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court says 158.8 million eligible voters will choose a president, governors, 54 senators, 513 federal deputies and 1,059 state and district deputies on October 4. Presidential and gubernatorial runoffs, where necessary, will take place on October 25.

Uránia previously covered the campaign of conservative trans candidate Sophia Barclay with the right-wing Liberal Party and 150 candidates from different parties who signed a charter promoted by the feminist group Matria containing proposals that would restrict trans people in several areas.