(2022) SERGIO PINHEIRO FIRPO; França, Michael; Portella, Alysson; Tavares, Rafael
Using data from Brazilian elections for federal and state legislative chambers from 2014 and 2018, we investigated the measure of racial balance in descriptive representation, that is, how much candidates and elected representatives reflect the racial composition of the population. We construct a Racial Balance Index (RBI) that aims to compare the percentage of black candidates and elected representatives with their percentage in the electorate. We analyze this index at the national and state levels, as well as within parties, also taking into account their ideological position. The results indicate some racial balance with respect to candidacies, but a high imbalance when we consider the elected representatives. To complement the analysis, we also investigated racial disparities in access to campaign resources. We found that not only do black candidates receive fewer resources on average, but these resources are more concentrated among them.
