Brazil’s child protective councils a new battleground for ideological warfare

Amid polarization between conservatives and progressives, Brazilians voted this Sunday to elect representatives for child protective councils in every city in the country. The 30,500 people elected will represent the rights of children and adolescents for the next four years. The results will be announced on Tuesday. 

Elections for the council used to receive little attention. Just 100,000 voted in the last one, in 2019 — a paltry 0.05 percent of the electorate. Voting for child protective councils is not mandatory, unlike federal, state, and municipal elections. According to some estimates, this election saw a turnout of at least 10 percent more than in 2019. 

Historically, these councils have been made up of human rights activists linked to social movements and left-wing parties. But they have become the latest battleground between the ideological poles of Brazilian politics, with conservatives coming to see them as essential venues to implement their policies.

And because campaigns for child protective councils are regulated by municipal laws rather than the electoral justice system, the guardrails against illegal campaigning are much weaker — especially when it comes to endorsements from celebrities and religious figures.

Som evangelical Christian pastors and conservative politicians have promoted candidates associated with religion and who support giving more power to families on issues such as homeschooling.

On the other hand, left-leaning politicians and artists defended candidates who support diversity and the strengthening institutions that guarantee rights, such as legal abortion for victims of sexual violence.

Child protective councils are mandated to prevent truancy, monitor institutions that concern children and adolescents, and report human rights violations to the authorities. In more serious cases, they can remove parents’ custody of their children.

The growing religious presence in these councils has had real consequences for children. In 2020, a woman in rural São Paulo lost custody of her 12-year-old daughter after taking her to a Candomblé initiation ritual — a religion with African roots — following complaints from the child’s evangelical Christian grandmother.

In São Paulo, evangelical councilors worked to prevent teens from having legal abortions and reportedly imposed “cleansing sessions” on queer students.

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