Financiamento de campanha e doação de partidos: um estudo sobre a disputa eleitoral de candidatos LGBT+ às Câmaras Municipais (2016 - 2020)

Abstract

The political representation of minorities is essential for the construction of inclusive democratic institutions, enabling the demands of historically marginalised groups to be incorporated into public debate and the political landscape. The LGBT+ population represents a small group in the Brazilian Congress, but the growing number of candidates from this segment in the country's electoral disputes suggests a new horizon in the political representation of this group. Considering the social stigmatisation of this population both inside and outside the political arena, we question the reasons behind the low rate of LGBT+ candidates who were successful in the 2016 and 2020 elections. Specialised literature has pointed to the lack of symbolic capital and resources to finance electoral campaigns as factors that makes the electoral race more difficult. Thus, the main objective of this research is to analyse how inequalities in campaign financing influence the performance of LGBT+ candidates compared to heterosexual candidates in Brazilian municipal elections. We assume that (h1) LGBT+ candidates raise a lower rate of funds than heterosexual candidates; that (h2) racialised candidates receive lower funding than their non-racialised peers; and finally, that (h3) the distribution of campaign funds differs according to the political-ideological spectrum of the parties. Methodologically, we employed a quantitative method, using descriptive analyses of data collected from the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and non-governmental organisations on the 2016 and 2020 municipal elections. The results pointed out that LGBT+ candidates raise fewer funds and that racialised candidates face more difficulties in terms of funding and electoral performance. In addition, a disparity was identified in the distribution of resources according to the political-ideological spectrum of the parties, with left-wing parties showing greater financial support than right-wing parties.