Who Is Julia Zanatta? Brazil’s Re-Elected Congresswoman
Updated 2 times · Latest: 16 October 2026
Key Facts · In short · 16 October 2026
- —Who she is Júlia Zanatta, 41, is a federal deputy for Santa Catarina and a vice-leader, or deputy floor leader, of the Liberal Party (PL) in Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies.
- —Latest result She was re-elected on 4 October 2026 with 560,223 votes, up from 111,588 votes in 2022.
- —Known for She is known for opposing abortion and vaccine mandates, defending gun rights and taking the “censorship” complaint against Brazil’s courts abroad.
- —Controversy In August 2025 the Chamber’s president indicated a suspension of up to six months for her and four others over an occupation of the plenary, and a lawyers’ group asked the government’s legal office to act over her vaccine campaign.
- —2026 role In June 2026 she said she was available to be Flávio Bolsonaro’s running mate; he now faces President Lula in the 25 October runoff.
Júlia Zanatta, 41, often searched as Julia Zanatta, is a conservative federal deputy for Santa Catarina and a vice-leader of the Liberal Party (PL). She won re-election on 4 October 2026 with 560,223 votes, the most for any federal deputy in Brazil’s south.
This profile covers who she is, what she stands for and the controversies around her, each tied to a named source. It is updated as the post-election campaign develops, and our Brazil runoff guide covers the national race.
Who Is Julia Zanatta?
Júlia Pedroso Zanatta was born on 20 March 1985 in Criciúma, a coal-mining city in the south of Santa Catarina. The Chamber of Deputies’ biography lists her as a graduate in journalism and law.
Her name is also written Julia Zanatta without the accent, and many searches shorten it to “Zanatta”. She took office as a federal deputy on 1 February 2023.
Career and Positions
She joined the Liberal Party (PL) in 2020 and ran for mayor of Criciúma the same year, finishing third with 6,953 votes, or 7.03% of valid votes. In 2022 she won a seat in the Chamber of Deputies with 111,588 votes, the sixth most in Santa Catarina, according to the Chamber.
In this legislature she has been a PL vice-leader again since December 2025 and held rotating vice-leaderships of the minority and opposition blocs in early 2026, according to Chamber records. Her stated platform centres on gun rights and self-defence, economic freedom and family autonomy in education.
She opposes abortion, and in schools she says she fights what she calls ideological indoctrination.
Key Controversies and Rulings
The Vaccine Bills
In 2023 she filed a legislative decree bill (PDL 486/2023) to overturn a health ministry technical note that added the Covid-19 vaccine to the childhood schedule for ages six months to under five years. The Chamber’s governing board rejected it in February 2024, and an appeal is pending.
In May 2025 she filed two bills (PL), one to free parents from vaccinating a minor when a medical certificate advises against the shot (PL 2643/2025) and one to ban compulsory vaccination and create a crime of “vaccine coercion” (PL 2641/2025). On 9 July 2025 the lawyers’ group Prerrogativas asked the federal government’s legal office (AGU) to act over her campaign against vaccination, and on 14 August 2026 the PT’s Gleisi Hoffmann asked the Prosecutor-General’s Office (PGR) to act over her posts, Congresso em Foco reported.
The August 2025 Chamber Occupation
On 5 August 2025 opposition deputies occupied the Chamber’s plenary and presidency in protest at former president Jair Bolsonaro’s house arrest and in support of an amnesty, and Zanatta took part with her four-month-old daughter. Chamber president Hugo Motta then indicated a suspension of up to six months for five deputies, including her, and the left-wing deputy Reimont reported the episode to the child-welfare council.
Zanatta said the left used her daughter to attack her. The Ethics Council approved 60-day suspensions for three of the deputies on 5 May 2026, according to the Chamber, and she was not among them, but we could not confirm a final decision on her case.
Lawsuits Against Journalists
A 2025 count by the journalism association Abraji, cited by the Latin American Journalism Review, lists Zanatta among the politicians who sue reporters, including civil and criminal cases against the journalist Amanda Miranda. Press-freedom groups cite such suits as part of a pattern of legal pressure on the media.
What Julia Zanatta Said and Did Recently
On 4 October 2026 she won her second term with 560,223 votes, about 13.15% of valid votes in Santa Catarina, according to reports on the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) count. She was named best federal deputy of Santa Catarina in the Congresso em Foco popular vote in August 2026.
In June 2026, after Eduardo Bolsonaro promoted her name, she said she was available to be vice-presidential candidate on Flávio Bolsonaro’s ticket, telling CNN Brasil she was “ready for combat”. She said she would accept whatever the Bolsonaro family and PL president Valdemar Costa Neto decided.
The Buenos Aires Censorship Event
On 30 May 2024 Zanatta joined Eduardo Bolsonaro and other pro-Bolsonaro lawmakers at an event in Buenos Aires titled “Censorship, Freedom of Expression, and Human Rights in Brazil”. It was organised by the Argentine deputy María Celeste Ponce, an ally of President Javier Milei.
There she accused Brazil’s judiciary of persecuting political opponents and called for an amnesty for the “more than 800 detainees held without due process” after the 8 January 2023 storming of government buildings in Brasília, IstoÉ reported. Reports said the deputies asked Argentina to receive fugitives from that case as political exiles, which Zanatta and Marcel van Hattem later denied was a formal request, Jovem Pan reported.
Why Julia Zanatta Matters for Brazil
Her 560,223 votes are about five times her 2022 result and the most for any federal deputy in Brazil’s south, which makes her one of the PL’s strongest vote-getters. The result shows the party’s strength in Santa Catarina, a conservative state.
For readers outside Brazil, her path shows how the PL builds its bloc in the Chamber of Deputies, which votes on trade, budget and judicial-reform bills. How she positions herself in the runoff and afterwards will indicate how that bloc behaves under a Lula or a Flávio Bolsonaro government.
What to Watch
Watch how she campaigns for Flávio Bolsonaro before the 25 October runoff. Watch also how she votes on PL-led bills when the new legislature takes office on 1 February 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Julia Zanatta?
Júlia Zanatta, often written Julia Zanatta, is a federal deputy for Santa Catarina in the Liberal Party (PL). Born in Criciúma in 1985, she is a journalist and lawyer who worked for twelve years as a political communications adviser before entering Congress.
Was Julia Zanatta re-elected in 2026?
Yes, she won a second term on 4 October 2026 with 560,223 votes, the most for a federal deputy in Brazil’s south. In 2022 she had won 111,588 votes.
What are Julia Zanatta’s political positions?
She opposes abortion, defends legal gun ownership and self-defence, and campaigns against what she calls ideological indoctrination in schools. She also filed bills against mandatory vaccination and favours economic liberalism.
What did Julia Zanatta say in Buenos Aires?
At a 30 May 2024 event on censorship and human rights in Brazil, organised by the Argentine deputy María Celeste Ponce, she accused Brazil’s judiciary of persecuting political opponents. Brazil’s courts deny the persecution claims.
Did Julia Zanatta run for vice president?
No. In June 2026 she said she was available to be Flávio Bolsonaro’s running mate, but she ran for re-election to the Chamber of Deputies instead.
Why is Julia Zanatta controversial?
Critics point to her vaccine bills, over which a lawyers’ group asked the government’s legal office to act, and to the August 2025 occupation of the Chamber’s plenary, after which the Chamber’s president indicated a suspension of up to six months for her and four others. She rejects the criticism.
Sources: Chamber of Deputies biography, open-data records and Ethics Council list; Revista Fórum and Trademap on the TSE count of 4 October 2026; InfoMoney, Câmara and CNN Brasil on the August 2025 occupation; Congresso em Foco (June to August 2026); CNN Brasil (15 June 2026); IstoÉ and Jovem Pan on the Buenos Aires event; Latin American Journalism Review (2025).
For the wider picture, read our Brazil election results hub, our Michelle Bolsonaro profile and our guide to Brazil’s Supreme Court.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error
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