THE FINANCING OF WOMEN'S CAMPAIGNS AND ADI 5617: A MATTER OF DEMOCRACY

Abstract

Context: The Brazilian Supreme Federal Count(STF), in judging ADI No. 5617, declared unconstitutional parts of Law No. 13,165/2015, determining, on the same occasion, that political parties allocate at least 30% of their background resources for women's campaign financing. Subsequently, the Legislative Power promulgated Constitutional Amendment No. 117/2022 maintaining the 30%, but contradicting some of the Supreme Court's deliberations by allowing, for example, amnesty for parties that may not have complied with the mentioned percentage. The controversy surrounding these legislations reveals a conflict between the Legislative and Judicial branches, especially the STF, regarding this funding.

Objectives: Este artículo tiene como objetivo discutir la relación entre los poderes en Brasil, teniendo como objeto de análisis la controversia entre el Supremo Tribunal Federal y el Legislativo sobre la política de financiamiento de las campañas de las mujeres, con el fin de analizar los límites de la actuación del Tribunal Constitucional al establecer parámetros legislativos para esta financiación.

Method: A deductive method was used to examine the above questions. Data analysis was also employed, as the possible positive outcomes of allocating the mentioned resources were examined throughout the study.

Results: In the end, it was found that the Federal Supreme Court exceeded its constitutional-institutional limits by creating legislative parameters for the financing of women's campaigns, in opposition to what had been decided by the Legislature. In fact, faced with two ways of supporting and encouraging women's political participation – political training programs or financing of candidacies – Congress, which is responsible for the country's political decisions, chose to favor one of them, without abandoning the other.