Lesbians and Feminist Governance in Brazil’s Democratic Reconstruction

How do lesbian actors mobilize within feminist governance structures to influence policy agendas and navigate institutional resistance in a post-authoritarian context? This paper examines how lesbian activists and public servants in Brazil have engaged in feminist governance during a period of democratic reconstruction. In the aftermath of Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right administration (2019–2022), marked by systematic attacks on gender and sexual rights, the new government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2023–) initiated efforts to rebuild institutions and reinstate gender equality frameworks. Within this context, lesbian women have emerged as strategic actors in ministries, national councils, and policy forums—participating in the design and implementation of programs for gender and LGBTQIA+ equality. Their presence signals both an advance in visibility and an ongoing struggle to reshape the state from within. Methodologically, the research adopts a qualitative design that combines process tracing and semi-structured interviews to identify the mechanisms through which lesbian actors influence feminist governance structures. Drawing on six interviews with lesbian women who occupied or collaborated in strategic government positions, alongside analyses of policy documents, institutional reports, and public statements, the study reconstructs the causal sequences linking their participation to broader institutional outcomes. This process-tracing approach enables the identification of how bureaucratic resistance, symbolic erasure, and activist innovation interact in the everyday practices of governance. The analysis focuses on six key public policies: the LesboCenso Nacional, the Agenda to Combat Lesbophobia, the Forum for Lesbian Public Policy, the National Council for LGBTQIA+ Rights, the National Council for the Rights of Women, and the 4th National LGBTQIA+ Conference. By tracing how lesbian actors combine administrative tools with activist strategies, the paper contributes to debates on feminist governance and policy-making in the context of democratic backsliding and reconstruction. It argues that lesbian institutionalism—the participation of lesbian actors within formal state structures—reveals the frictions between inclusion and transformation, as well as the limits of institutional feminism when faced with cisheteronormative and technocratic constraints. The Brazilian experience illuminates broader challenges facing feminist governance worldwide, including the tension between participatory inclusion, technocratic constraints, and resurgent anti-gender mobilisation.