The Resilience of Patriarchy: Gender, Race, and Intersectional Representation in Brazil’s 2024 Municipal Elections

This article examines gender and race-based affirmative action initiatives in the configuration of women’s political representation in Brazil’s 2024 municipal elections, from an intersectional perspective, assessing the extent to which changes in quota regulations and campaign financing mechanisms have effectively addressed persistent structural inequalities. The study is grounded in the premise that, despite normative advances, the implemented reforms remain insufficient to ensure substantively equal conditions of political competition, due to the persistence of intra-party barriers, unequal access to resources, and the reproduction of informal exclusionary practices. Adopting a mixed-methods approach, the research combines quantitative and qualitative analyses based on data from Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (2014–2024), legislative and regulatory frameworks, and an examination of the profiles of the most-voted female city councilors in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro. The findings indicate that increases in descriptive representation do not necessarily translate into greater substantive diversity, as a significant share of elected women are affiliated with right-wing parties and advance conservative political agendas. The article concludes that Brazil’s electoral system continues to reproduce gender and racial inequalities, and that the effectiveness of affirmative action policies depends on their articulation with broader transformations in party practices and political culture.