2023 Brazilian general election
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All 511 seats in the Chamber of Deputies 256 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
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General elections were held on September 19, 2023 in order to determine the composition of the General Assembly in Brazil. All 511 seats in the Chamber of Deputies along with 23 of the 72 seats in the Senate were up for election. In the previous election in 2019, incumbent prime minister Rodrigo Leitão was re-elected to a third term with a smaller majority upon surviving a motion of no confidence put forward by the conservative opposition. The election is widely viewed as a referendum on Leitão and his leadership as prime minister admits several crises that have affected Brazil in recent years, both domestically and internationally.
Leitão was re-elected in 2019 despite a vote of no confidence over a major scandal over connections with Mato Grosso Energy, the energy company Leitão previously worked with before entering politics, and had allegations of using his position as prime minister to gain contracts from the company and pursuit of personal enrichment. Leitão would lead Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic, overseeing the country's response to the virus and the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in the country despite obstruction from the conservative opposition. In late 2021 following the Amazonas incident, Leitão would impose sanctions against the United People's Committees and the United Commonwealth over their role in the destruction of the Brazilian corvette Amazonas and boycotted several goods from both countries. While receiving praise for his actions, he would also face criticism and had to deal with the economic effects of the boycott and the wider Caribbean diplomatic crisis, one that Brazil has found itself in the front and center of. Other notable actions included the continuation of his ban on de-forestation in the Amazon rainforest, transition to green energy by 2025, and moratoriums on off-shore drilling among several other environmental protection policies.
Leitão's government and his allies, the Democratic Coalition for Brazil, ran for a fourth term in office and are campaigned on a socially and politically liberal platform and a more active role in international affairs. Foreign policy was one of the main issues of the election, primarily focusing on Brazil's response to Andean and Continental aggression and influence in the Americas as well as the country's role in the Caribbean crisis alongside the Conference of American States. Domestically, environmentalism and climate change were also major issues in the election along with corruption, healthcare, recovery from the pandemic, and a variety of social and cultural issues.
The election ended in a major victory for the conservative coalition lead by the Progressive Party with the coalition winning a total of 210 seats in the General Assembly. The Democratic Coalition lead by the Democrats for Brazil suffered noticeable losses along with the Front for Labour as well. The primary reasons for the losses for both coalitions was due to perceived weakness against the Andes and the United Commonwealth in the face of growing opposition towards both countries and ideologies associated with both countries. Following two weeks of negotiations, a new government was formed with Miguel Inácio Dino becoming the next prime minister, taking office on September 28, 2023.
Background
Rodrigo Leitão was elected prime minister in 2014, defeating incumbent Manuel Dória and assuming the position as prime minister. Leitão lead the Democrats of Brazil to their first electoral victory in nearly a decade and consolidated the party's position in parliament by forming an electoral alliance with several liberal and progressive parties into the Democratic Coalition of Brazil. As prime minister, Leitão saw Brazil's accession into the Conference of American States in 2016 and detente with Bolivia and the Andes, all of which were viewed as major foreign policy achievements. Domestically, Leitão imposed strict protections on the Amazon rainforest and regulations on deforestation, barring the practice in the Amazon and imposing harsh punishments for those found guilty of it along with restricting oil drilling in Brazil. Leitão would be re-elected to a second term in 2018 admits high approval ratings and expanded his party's plurality in parliament and the majority of the Democratic Coalition in the General Assembly. Between 2018 and 2019, Leitão continued his environmental policies and made climate change and tackling corruption top issues for his government and in Brazil, declaring them national emergencies.
In March 2019, leaked documents and testimony from anonymous individuals showed that Leitão had secret connections with Mato Grosso Energy, one of Brazil's biggest energy companies and one that he served in before entering politics. While Leitão officially ended his connections with the company after being elected to public office, the leaks showcased that he and other members of his cabinet still retained connections with the company and alleged that he used his position as prime minister to gain contracts from the company. The scandal caused major controversy and resulted in a successful vote of no confidence passed by the conservative Progressive Party of Brazil and scheduled the next election for September 17. Despite damaged approval ratings and low poll numbers, Leitão and his coalition retained their plurality and remained in office despite a smaller majority and continued controversy. In 2020, Brazil was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and would be one of the worst hit countries in the world. Leitão took an aggressive response to the pandemic in terms of persuasions against the virus and rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, receiving praise from his coalition, allies in government, and health experts while being opposed by the conservative opposition, facing threats of obstruction along the way, and spent 2021 ensuring the vaccination of the Brazilian population and eradication of the virus in Brazil nationwide. In December 2021, the Amazonas incident occurred and caused a crisis between Brazil and the neighboring United People's Committees, beginning the Caribbean diplomatic crisis in the Americas with Brazil being at the center of it.
Electoral system
Election date
The 2023 Brazilian general election will be held on September 19, 2023. The date was formally confirmed by General Assembly, which convened for a final time on July 30 in order to officially select the date. Prior to July 30, it was predicted that the 2023 general election would occur sometime in late August or early September of 2023. As a parliamentary democracy, election dates are chosen by the legislature, though in Brazil generally follow a quadrennial calendar.
Procedure
Brazil employs an open list proportional representation system for the Chamber of Deputies. On election day, the electorate votes directly for the party that best represents their interests, and the percentage of votes received from the electorate determines the allocation of seats in the Chamber of Deputies. From 1976 to 2019, political parties were required to receive at least 2% percent of the popular vote before being granted representation in the General Assembly. This 2% threshold was abolished through the Fair Voting Act in 2020.
In Brazil, a voter must be at least sixteen years, a citizen of Brazil for at least five years, a resident of any Brazilian territory for at least ten years, and have a valid voter identification card in order to vote. Prior to 2009, Brazilians who were incarcerated on delict charges were constitutionally barred from received suffrage. Although a federation of sub-national entities with independent governments, voting laws are solely the design of the federal government and cannot differ between the different states.
Parties and standing
Campaign
Campaign issues
Foreign policy
The topic of foreign policy became a major campaign issue due to its dominance in much of Brazilian politics and political discourse since early 2022. The country's role in the Conference of American States combined with the ongoing Caribbean crisis and tension within the region and increased hostilities between Brazil and the neighboring country of the Andes to the north has made it a major issue for the 2023 election. The Leitão government has acted on a policy of liberal internationalism, operating diplomatically on a basis of support for spreading liberal democracy worldwide, as a counterweight to the ideological influence of the Andes and Continental States. The Brazil Union by contrast has called for a harsher approach, supporting the complete militarization of the Andean–Brazilian border and expansion of the Brazilian Armed Forces through expanded conscription efforts. Since 2022, the Brazilian government has imposed embargoes on certain goods form the United Commonwealth and the Andes, sanctioned several Andean and Continental companies and officials, and has restricted both trade and commerce between Brazil and the two countries. The Andean-Brazilian border has since become a frequent source of controversy and tension since the falling out of relations between Brazil and the Andes, leading to calls for either militarization of the border, deploying more troops to secure it, or negotiations to ensure stability and peace on the border, the latter of which is supported by the Brazil of Hope alliance.
Monarchism
Throughout the 2010s, support for republicanism has grown in Brazil with the Labour Front increasing supporting republicanism and the National Republican Movement gaining more support and electoral successes, going from a fringe movement to a member of one of Brazil's three main political coalitions and presence in mainstream politics. Brazil's monarchy, while maintaining nominal support, has been the most controversial politically compared to other monarchies in the Americas and Brazil's republican movement is among one of the largest within the Americas, especially among countries in the continent that have monarchies. Brazil of Hope supports republicanism and has called for a referendum on the issue while the Brazil Union has opposed it and the Democratic Coalition has taken a neutral stance on the matter with Leitão himself personally being supportive of the monarchy, but criticizing times when the emperor has gotten involved and has called for strengthening Brazil's constitutional system. The current emperor, Afonso II of Brazil, maintains fairly high approval ratings in Brazil, however the republican movement has nonetheless gained more support and attention in recent years in both political discourse and mainstream politics, and has been accused of overreach and undermining Brazilian democracy and casting democratic backsliding.