BRAZIL · ELECTIONS
Key Facts
- The country Brazil is Latin America’s largest country, and its electoral court runs elections and judges every candidacy.
- What happened On Thursday 29 October 2026 the court voted unanimously and said it will ask Congress for the change.
- The law The ban on abusers would amend Complementary Law 64 of 1990, the law that lists who may not run.
- The route Both houses of Congress must pass it by absolute majority, and the president can sign or veto it.
- Power Index Brazil ranks 1st of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 75.0 points (October 2026 edition).
Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court said on Thursday 29 October 2026 that it will ask Congress for a ban on abusers running for office. The court runs the country’s elections, and the ban would cover anyone convicted of violence against women.
The plan does not change US law, trade or travel, but it matters to Americans who follow how big democracies handle gender violence in politics. Brazil is a large US trading partner, and its next elections are already on the calendar.
What Happened
The decision came at a plenary session of the court, known as the Tribunal Superior Eleitoral or TSE, in Brasília. The judges voted unanimously that a man who ran for federal deputy in the north-eastern state of Alagoas could not stand.
He had been sentenced to 4 years and 2 months in prison for bodily injury against a woman because of her sex. A state appeals court had upheld the sentence, and a regional electoral court had already refused to register his candidacy.
Justice Dias Toffoli, who prepared the case, said the court was not creating a new ground of ineligibility. He said the ruling did not add by analogy an offence the law leaves out.
Justice Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva then proposed that Congress write the ban on abusers into the Ineligibility Law, urgently. The text would list convictions for crimes of violence against women expressly, whatever legal interest the offence protects.
Court president Kassio Nunes Marques called the moment historic and said the court was applying its case law ahead of legislation. Cueva added that a clear rule would give the matter more legal certainty.
What the Law Says Today
Brazil’s Ineligibility Law, Complementary Law 64 of 1990, lists the crimes that bar a person from office after a conviction by a panel of judges. The list covers crimes against life and sexual dignity, corruption, money laundering, drug trafficking and torture.
For crimes in that group the bar runs from the conviction until 8 years after the sentence is served. Attacks on women are not named, so the court read the category by the interest it protects.
Brazil made femicide, the killing of a woman because of her sex, a separate crime in October 2024, with a minimum sentence of 20 years. Our report on the Supreme Court’s August ruling on the Maria da Penha Law covers the main domestic-violence statute.
How the Proposal Would Reach Congress
The Constitution reserves ineligibility rules for complementary laws, which need an absolute majority in both houses. That means at least 257 of 513 deputies and 41 of 81 senators.
Two similar bills already sit in Congress, one filed in November 2024 by Senator Augusta Brito, of the Workers’ Party. Deputy Fernanda Melchionna, of the left-wing PSOL party, filed the other in the Chamber in December 2025.
Why It Matters
The proposal would turn a court interpretation into written law. Judges elsewhere could read the list differently, as the regional court in Alagoas did when it decided the case by a majority in September.
A ban on abusers would apply when parties choose candidates, and the next nationwide vote is the municipal elections of 2028. Our explainer on why Brazil’s femicide numbers keep rising shows the problem behind the push.
What It Means for You
The proposal does not touch US law, tariffs or trade with Brazil. Americans who invest in Brazil or work with Brazilian partners will see a court acting where lawmakers have so far not.
The ban on abusers would apply only to people seeking public office in Brazil. It would not affect visitors, investors or foreign residents.
What Is Not Known
The court has not published the exact wording, and no bill number has been announced. It is unclear which lawmaker or committee will carry the proposal.
No date for a vote has been set. It is open whether the ban would cover convictions still under appeal, as in the Alagoas case, or only final ones.
More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Brazil’s electoral court propose?
It will ask Congress to change the Ineligibility Law so that convictions for violence against women expressly bar a person from running. The court announced the plan on Thursday 29 October 2026.
Is there already a ban on abusers running?
Partly, because on 29 October the court applied the existing list to such a conviction. The proposal would write the rule into the law.
Who must approve the change?
Congress must pass the ban on abusers as a complementary law, with an absolute majority in both houses. The president can then sign or veto it.
Sources: Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (Brazil’s electoral court), plenary session news item, 29 October 2026; Tribunal Superior Eleitoral, compiled text of Complementary Law 64 of 1990, 29 October 2026; Federal Senate, bill PLP 197/2024 (Complementary Bill), 29 October 2026; Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF), Alagoas, on the regional electoral court ruling, 15 September 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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