2022 Brazilian general election (Pax Brasiliana)

2022 Brazilian General Election

December 4, 2022 (2022-12-04)
578 seats in the Chamber of Deputies 84 seats in the Federal Senate 290/43 seats needed for a majority
Registered	153,293,752
Turnout	82.1%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Giovanna Z. Gottschalk Valdemir M. Souto Fernando S. Fortunato Party Technocratic and Nationalist Front for Reorganization of the Brazilian Social Order National Democratic Union National Legitimist Legion Alliance Nationalist Alliance Coalition for a Just Brazil Nationalist Alliance Leader since 19 October 2022 9 January 2020 15 April 2015 Leader's seat Santa Catarina Alagoas Rio de Janeiro Last election Did not take part 50 Deputies, 8 Senators 35 Deputies, 3 Senators Seats before 76 Deputies, 7 Senators 47 Deputies, 4 Senators 35 Deputies, 3 Senators Seats won 135 Deputies, 18 Senators 47 Deputies, 6 Senators 45 Deputies, 5 Senators Seat change 59 Deputies , 11 Senators 2 Senators 10 Deputies , 2 Senators Popular vote 25,800,104 11,704,437 10,320,042 Percentage 20.5% 9.3% 8.2% Swing +20.5% -2.5% +2.7%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Patricia S. Vilela Maurílio M. Grossi Larissa A. de Araújo Party PCB Democratic Liberal Social Democratic Party (Brazil) Alliance The People United For a Free Country Coalition for a Just Brazil Coalition for a Just Brazil Leader since 7 August 2019 26 April 2017 1 June 2021 Leader's seat São Paulo São Paulo Ceará Last election 34 Deputies, 8 Senators 42 Deputies, 6 Senators 48 Deputies, 9 Senators Seats before 36 Deputies, 8 Senators 41 Deputies, 6 Senators 45 Deputies, 7 Senators Seats won 40 Deputies, 6 Senators 31 Deputies, 4 Senators 27 Deputies, 8 Senators Seat change 4 Deputies , 2 Senators 10 Deputies , 2 Senators 18 Deputies , 1 Senator Popular vote 9,816,625 6,796,125 6,544,417 Percentage 7.8% 5.4% 5.2% Swing +1.1% -4.2% -5.1%
Prime Minister before election Giovanna Gottschalk FROTECNA-ROSOB Prime Minister Giovanna Gottschalk FROTECNA-ROSOB

The 2022 Brazilian General Election was held on 4 December 2022, a Sunday. Originally scheduled for 17 April 2022, the election was postponed thrice due to the 2022 Brazilian Political Crisis, as political violence in Brazil escalated to unprecedented levels. It was the third Brazilian snap election (called the extraordinary election in Brazil) since the establishment of the Parliamentary Republic in 1964. All 578 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 90 seats in the Federal Senate were up to the election. The Parliament of 2018-2022 was dissolved six months earlier than the date scheduled due to the leaking of the Vincenzi Letter, a plan authored by the cabinet of former Prime Minister Ingrid Winckler Santos. The plan involved the murder of Senator Valdemir Souto - former opposition leader to the government of Ingrid Santos - and the restoration of the Brazilian monarchy. Following the resignation of the Santos Cabinet, President Alessandro Malvezzi appointed Giovanna Gottschalk as Prime Minister. On 22 February 2022, the Federal Parliament was dissolved by Malvezzi, who then allowed Giovanna Gottschalk to rule by decree.

The atmosphere in which the electoral campaign was conducted has been widely commented by the media to be one of "state-sponsored psychological terrorism". Many foreign observers compared the political climate of Brazil to one of a country at war. Despite the tension revolving around the election, international NGOs considered the election to be democratic and fair, although elements of the Brazilian opposition deemed the results to be forged. By the time the election was conducted, the Political Crisis was over and order was restored in most of Brazil.

The 2022 General Election was marked by several happenings. A self-proclaimed technocratic party was elected as the leading party in a ruling coalition, which has not happened previously in South America. It also marked the end of the National Popular Front era, as the party lost more than 80 of the seats it previously held in the Chamber of Deputies. Membership of the National Popular Front also dwindled, reaching an all-time low of 400,000 nationwide members. The 2022 election became famous for the ascension of the National Legimitist Legion, a monarchist party that never was part of a ruling coalition before the 2022 election.

Background

The 2018 General Election was marked by the triumph of the National Popular Front under the leadership of Ingrid Winckler Santos. Ingrid succeeded Prime Minister Álvaro Nunes Conceição, who also was from the National Popular Front. Álvaro Conceição retired from politics after discovering he had a case of throat cancer. The National Popular Front remained the party with the largest share of seats in the Federal Parliament and led a coalition consisting of several parties, such as the left-wing Brazilian Labour Party, the centrist Social Democratic Party, and the right-wing Republican Party.

In 2020 a corruption scandal-tainted the image of Ingrid Santos' cabinet. Benedito de Deus accused the healthcare minister of operating an embezzlement scheme that diverted funds from SUS (the Brazilian universal healthcare system) to his accounts in tax havens. According to media reports, the embezzlement scheme (which became known as the "Mensalão do SUS") happened with the consent of the prime minister, Ingrid Santos. The corruption scandal, coupled with the raising crime rates and the uncontrolled inflation, irreversibly spoiled the National Popular Front's popularity.

However, the leaking of the Vincenzi Letter in January 2022 was described by the media as the "final nail in the coffin" of the National Popular Front. The Vincenzi Letter was a leaked plot detailing the murder of opposition leader Valdemir Mendes Souto and the installation of a constitutional monarchy in Brazil, in which the National Popular Front would be guaranteed to be the ruling party, thus transforming Brazil into a federal constitutional monarchy under a dominant-party system.

What followed the Vincenzi Letter scandal was a political crisis, which culminated in the resignation of the Santos Cabinet. President Alessandro Malvezzi appointed Giovanna Gottschalk as Prime Minister. Despite successfully dealing with the political crisis, Giovanna and Alessandro grew discontent with the policies of the National Reorganization League (Giovanna's party). As a result, Giovanna created the Technocratic and Nationalist Front for Reorganization of the Brazilian Social Order (FROTECNA-ROSOB). This new political party resulted from the merger of the National Reorganization League, the Brazilian Technocratic Party, and dissidents from the National Popular Front and the National Democratic Union.

Electoral System

Voting in the Federal Republic of Brazil is voluntary for all citizens aged 16 or older. Brazilians residing abroad are allowed to vote for candidates of their state of birth.

Federal Elections

In 2022, all seats of the Federal Senate were up for the election for a term of four years in office. Each state will elect three candidates using majority block voting.

In 2022, all 578 seats of the Chamber of Deputies also were up for the election. The four-year terms will expire in 2026. Candidates are elected from 28 multi-member constituencies corresponding to the states and the Federal District, varying in size from ten to 120 seats. The minimum number of seats is ten, while there is no set maximum number of seats. The Chamber elections are held using open list proportional representation, with seats allocated using the simple quotient.

State Elections

In the Federal Republic of Brazil, each state has its own constitution. As such, state electoral systems vary from state to state. In the state of São Paulo, the most populous administrative unit of Brazil, a bicameral parliamentary system is used. In the state of Acre, however, a unicameral presidential system is used. The state of Maranhão is the only state in Brazil to use a semi-presidential system.

Parties

	Party name	Leader	Founded	Seats in the Federal Senate	Seats in the Chamber of Deputies	Governors	Ideology
	National Popular Front Frente Popular Nacional	Ingrid Winckler Santos	1977	16 / 84	102 / 578	6 / 30	Civic Nationalism Centrism Rhenish Model
	Brazilian Labour Party Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro	Antônio Pontes Modesto	1938	10 / 84	58 / 578	3 / 30	Brazilian Nationalism Labourism Social democracy
	National Democratic Union União Democrática Nacional	Valdemir Mendes Souto	1936	8 / 84	50 / 578	4 / 30	Social Conservatism Fiscal Conservatism Anti-Communism
	Social Democratic Party Partido Social Democrático	Larissa Alves de Araújo	1942	9 / 84	48 / 578	3 / 30	Centrism Populism Liberal Conservatism
	Liberal Party Partido Liberal	Maurílio Motta Grossi	1931	6 / 84	41 / 578	1 / 30	Social Liberalism Centrism
	Brazilian Integralist Action Ação Integralista Brasileira	Henrique Neres Honório	1932	6 / 84	38 / 578	2 / 30	Brazilian Integralism Fascism Anti-Communism
	Brazilian Communist Party Partido Comunista Brasileiro	Patricia Santana Vilela	1922	8 / 84	36 / 578	1 / 30	Leninism Revolutionary Socialism
	National Legitimist Legion Legião Legitimista Nacional	Fernando Sobral Fortunato	1965	3 / 84	35 / 578	0 / 30	Monarchism Constitutionalism Social conservatism
	National Labour Party Partido Nacional Trabalhista	Walter Jung Schwarz	1956	1 / 84	27 / 578	1 / 30	National Labourism Brazilian Nationalism Anti-Imperialism
	Social Progressive Party Partido Social Progressista	Mauro Carlos de Barros	1945	3 / 84	22 / 578	2 / 30	Labourism Social democracy Social conservatism
	Christian Democratic Party Partido Democrata Cristão	Gilberto Rinaldi Carmona	1951	2 / 84	19 / 578	2 / 30	Christian Democracy Social conservatism
	Brazilian Socialist Party Partido Socialista Brasileiro	Moisés Galindo Eleutério	1929	3 / 84	15 / 578	3 / 30	Democratic socialism Progressivism
	Republican Party Partido Republicano	Simone Cardoso Crisóstomo	1927	2 / 84	14 / 578	0 / 30	Economic nationalism Social conservatism Protectionism
	Proletarian Defense Front Frente de Defesa Proletária	Manoel Viana Nunes	1932	0 / 84	10 / 578	0 / 30	Libertarian Socialism Zapatism
	National Liberator Alliance Aliança Libertadora Nacional	Cláudio de Oliveira Toscano	1973	1 / 84	9 / 578	0 / 30	Democratic socialism Marxism Anti-fascism
	Brazilian Workers' Confederation Confederação Operária Brasileira	Adailton Passos Sodré	1906	1 / 84	8 / 578	0 / 30	Syndicalism Anarcho-communism Anarcho-socialism
	Green Party of Brazil Partido Verde do Brasil	Roberto Martins Amorim	1989	1 / 84	8 / 578	1 / 30	Green Politics Environmentalism Progressivism
	Liberator Party Partido Libertador	Jéssica da Silva Moreira	1928	1 / 84	7 / 578	1 / 30	Federalism Liberal conservatism
	Brazilian Maximalist Union União Maximalista Brasileira	Eduardo Garcia Dubinski	1936	0 / 84	6 / 578	0 / 30	Maximalism Marxism Accelerationism
	Constitutionalist Party Partido Constitucionalista	Felipe Müller Ferreira	1932	0 / 84	5 / 578	0 / 30	Confederalism Social conservatism Paulista Autonomism
	Gaucho Republican Party Partido Republicano Gaúcho	Elizabete Almeida Metz	1929	1 / 84	5 / 578	0 / 30	Republicanism Liberalism Gaucho Autonomism
	Brazilian Democratic Party Partido Democrático Brasileiro	Edilson de Sá Aguiar	1992	1 / 84	4 / 578	0 / 30	Economic liberalism Presidentialism Liberal conservatism
	Mineiro Liberal Democratic Party Partido Liberal Democrata Mineiro	Fabiano Câmara de Arruda	1930	0 / 84	4 / 578	0 / 30	Laissez-faire Capitalism Liberalism Mineiro Autonomism
	Workers' Central Union União Central dos Trabalhadores	Guilherme Telles Veiga	1972	0 / 84	3 / 578	0 / 30	Bolshevism Marxism Anti-Fascism
	Pirate Party of Brazil Partido Pirata do Brasil	Joel Souza Vieira	2012	0 / 84	2 / 578	0 / 30	Pirate Politics Direct Democracy
	National Patriotic Movement Movimento Patriótico Nacional	Hélio Moretti Bachmann	2022	0 / 84	1 / 578	0 / 30	Ultranationalism Anti-communism Militarism
	Technocratic and Nationalist Front for Reorganization of the Brazilian Social Order Frente Tecnocrática-Nacionalista de Reorganização da Ordem Social Brasileira	Giovanna Zanetti Gottschalk	2022	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Technocracy Centrism Rhenish Model Civic Nationalism National Mysticism (Minority)
	Brazilian Entrepeneur Party Partido Empreendedorista Brasileiro		2019	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Libertarianism Anarcho-capitalism
	National Liberal Party (Federal Republic of Brazil) Partido Nacional Liberal		2010	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Civic Nationalism Social liberalism
	New Alternative Nova Alternativa		2021	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Eco-capitalism Green liberalism Environmentalism
	Woman's Party (Brazil) Partido da Mulher		2018	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Feminism Progressivism Social democracy
	Brazilian Surrealist League Liga Surrealista Brasileira		2022	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Satire Anti-realism
	National Capitalist Party Partido Nacional Capitalista		2017	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Laissez-faire capitalism Ultranationalism
	Heritage Party Partido do Patrimônio		2018	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Masculinism MGTOW
	Ruralist Democratic Party Partido Democrático Ruralista		2009	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Agrarianism Social conservatism
	Brazilian Anti-Industrialist Party Partido Anti-Industralista Brasileiro		1999	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Anarcho-primitivism Green anarchism
	National Libertarian Front Frente Libertária Nacional		2012	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Anarcho-capitalism
	Federal Technocratic Party Partido Tecnocrata Federal		2009	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Centrism Technocracy
	Liberal Christian Party Partido Cristão Liberal		2014	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Political Catholicism Distributism
	Always Forward! Sempre em Frente!		2014	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Economic liberalism Libertarian conservatism
	Justice Party Partido da Justiça		2022	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Anti-corruption Direct democracy
	Protect! Proteja!		2013	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Animals' rights Environmentalism
	National Renewal Party Partido de Renovação Nacional		2006	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Neo-fascism Presidentialism Ultranationalism
	Weed Party Partido da Maconha		2009	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Drug legalization
	Christian Party Partido Cristão		2018	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Christian nationalism Traditionalism Theocracy
	National Bolshevik League Liga Nacional Bolshevique		2020	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	National Bolshevism Ultranationalism
	Anarchist Party (Federal Republic of Brazil) Partido Anarquista		2017	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Anarcho-nihilism Anti-pacifism
	Social Christian Party Partido Cristão Social		2002	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Christian socialism Christian communism
	Brazilian Union União Brasileira		2022	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Social conservatism Fiscal conservatism
	Nationalist Party (Federal Republic of Brazil) Partido Nacionalista		2022	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Civic nationalism Protectionism Autarky
	Labour' Cause Party Partido da Causa Trabalhista		2022	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Political labour Democratic socialism
	National Ecological Party Partido Ecológico Nacional		2022	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Environmentalism Democratic socialism
	Brazilian Artistic Party Partido Artístico Brasileiro		2019	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Support for the arts and culture Promotion of Brazilian artists
	Independent Democratic Alliance Aliança Democrática Independente		2022	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Monarchism Centrism
	National Black Front Frente Negra Nacional		2022	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Socialism Defense of Black Brazilians' rights
	Popular Conservative Union União Conservadora Popular		2022	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Social conservatism Economic liberalism
	Retirees' Party Partido dos Aposentados		2022	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Welfare state Defense of retirees' rights
	Brazilian Military Party Partido Militar Brasileiro		2022	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Militarism Nationalism
	Socialist Front Party Partido da Frente Socialista		2022	0 / 84	0 / 578	0 / 30	Revolutionary socialism

Endorsements

As the most divisive election in Brazilian history, several individuals and organizations showed their support for their preferred candidates.

Newspapers

Nationalist Alliance

• The Tupiniquim
• The Gazette
• The Brazilese

Coalition for a Just Brazil

• Extraordinary
• The Week
• The World
• The People
• The Tribune of the Northeast
• The Liberal

The People United for a Free Country

• São Paulo Journal
• Diary of São Paulo
• The Red Herald
• The Gaucho Tribune
• The Green Journal
• The Metropolitan

Celebrities

Nationalist Alliance

• Sônia Ramalho, MPB singer
• Willian Cruz, Sertanejo Universitário singer
• Ricardo Gomes, Sertanejo singer
• Antônio Ceva, Pagode singer
• Leonel Santos, television host
• Dionísio Mayer, gun rights activist
• Wagner Sanches, journalist and former tv anchor
• Mauro de Souza, NewTube star and influencer
• Gen. Alexandre Vieira, retired Army officer
• Edvaldo Teodoro, far-right conspiracionist and writer
• Rosilene da Fonseca, model and actress
• Wendel Carvalho, soccer player

Coalition for a Just Brazil

• Julieta Nobre, actress
• Valdeir Silva, world boxing champion
• Elson Neves, human rights activist
• Maristela Prestes, actress
• Marilene Gaspar Rosa, journalist
• Jorge Motta, activist
• Rafaela Camargo, Pop singer

The People United for a Free Country

• Priscila Schulz, actress
• Rosângela Reis, Pop singer
• Celso Vitorino, retired Navy admiral
• Dilma Vieira dos Santos, feminist activist
• Yasmin Godoy, student leader
• Lourival Schmidt, labour union leader
• Nilton de Alencar, writer
• Danilo Franco, blogger and photographer
• MC Trovão, Hip Hop singer

International Political Support

Nationalist Alliance

• Aleksandr Dugin, president of Eurasia
• Narendra Modi, prime minister of India
• Yasukazu Hamada, prime minister of Japan
• Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel
• Rudy Giuliani, president of the United States of America
• José Antonio Kast, president of Chile
• Iván Duque Márquez, president of Colombia
• Mario Abdo Benítez, president of Paraguay

Coalition for a Just Brazil

• Valérie Pécresse, president of France
• Boris Johnson, prime minsiter of England
• Christian Lindner, prime minister of Germany
• Angela Merkel, former prime minister of Germany
• Tsai Ing-wen, president of China
• Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada
• Colorado Party (Uruguay)
• Guillermo Lasso, president of Ecuador

The People United for a Free Country

• Valentina Cuppi, prime minister of Italy
• Tony Blair, former prime minister of the United Kingdom
• José Antonio Mede, president of Mexico
• Alberto Fernández, president of Argentina
• Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, former president of Argentina
• Luis Arce, president of Bolivia
• Evo Morales, former president of Bolivia
• Pedro Castillo, president of Peru
• António Costa, prime minister of Portugal
• João Lourenço, president of Angola

Results

Federal Senate

Party		Total votes	%	Seats
					+/–
	Technocratic and Nationalist Front for Reorganization of the Brazilian Social Order			31,131,318	24.73	18	New
	Social Democratic Party	15,408,304	12.24	8	-1
	Brazilian Communist Party	13,293,438	10.56	6	-2
	National Democratic Union	8,673,464	6.89	6	-2
	National Legitimist Legion	7,225,789	5.74	5	+2
	Liberal Party	4,619,974	3.67	4	-2
	Brazilian Socialist Party	3,197,474	2.54	4	+1
	Brazilian Integralist Action	3,046,412	2.42	3	-3
	Brazilian Labour Party	2,479,930	1.97	3	-7
	National Labour Party	2,265,927	1.8	3	+1
	National Renewal Party	2,152,630	1.71	3	New
	Christian Democratic Party	1,661,679	1.32	2	-2
	Green Party	1,623,915	1.29	2	+1
	Liberal Christian Party	1,535,794	1.22	2	New
	Nationalist Party	1,523,205	1.21	2	New
	Social Progressive Party	1,447,677	1.15	1	-2
	National Liberator Alliance	1,422,498	1.13	1	0
	Liberator Party	1,409,910	1.12	1	-2
	Constitutionalist Party	1,384,733	1.1	1	+1
	Workers' Central Union	1,321,791	1.05	1	+1
	Pirate Party	1,271,436	1.01	1	+1
	Republican Party	1,125,883	1	1	-1
	National Patriotic Movement	1,170,728	0.93	1	New
	Independent Democratic Alliance	1,120,375	0.89	1	New
	National Ecological Party	1,032,255	0.82	1	New
	Popular Conservative Union	1,007,078	0.8	1	New
	Ruralist Democratic Party	956,724	0.76	1	New
	Brazilian Entrepeneur Party	906,371	0.72	1	New
Other parties		3,436,656	2.73	–	-
Valid votes		122,561,469	97.26	–	-
Invalid/blank votes		3,449,244	2.74	–	-
Total votes		153,293,752	100.0	84	-
Registered voters/turnout		125,884,829	82.12	–	-
Source: Supreme Electoral Court of Brazil