IDP students were the authors of an appointment, sent to the TSE, about the possibility that the 30%gender reserve rule for women in proportional candidacies also focuses on the constitution of party agencies, such as executive and director commissions. In a vote, the Ministers of the Electoral Court were the possibility of application of the rule for the internal disputes of the parties.

Check out an interview with professors Rafael Carneiro and Daniel Falcão, responsible for the IDP's Constitutional Law Clinic, in which the students participated.

1. What is the IDP Constitutional Law Clinic?

Rafael Carneiro : The IDP Constitutional Law Clinic is a practical and active teaching space. It was created to involve students in strategic litigation of public interest. Students become actors and not mere observers. They are encouraged to have greater public and social responsibility.

Daniel Falcão: The Clinic is very alive at this point. We encourage students to come up with ideas and we debate the topics raised. The clinic is divided into groups and each one plays a different agenda.

2. How did the idea of ​​consulting the TSE come about and how was this articulated in the IDP Constitutional Law Clinic?

Rafael Carneiro: In debates at the Clinic, the topic of low female political participation came up. Discussing possible solutions, it became clear that the legislative changes, in favor of greater female political participation, did not produce the expected results, due to the low representation of women in the leadership of political parties. They are the majority members, but they do not have proportional empowerment in the management bodies, responsible for defining campaign strategies, resource allocation, involvement of the party machine and activism.

Daniel Falcão: We observed that the idea was current and affirmative. We realized that, although the gender agenda (for candidacies) was already outdated, there was no talk about the participation of women within political parties. This topic ended up growing and continues to be an issue today.

3. What did this consultation with the TSE consist of?

Daniel Falcão: The consultation is an instrument of the Electoral Justice, in which the courts respond to doubts. As the Electoral Process is very lean, in the 1965 Code, there was the idea of ​​creating a mechanism so that some people could ask questions.

In this specific case, Senator Lídice da Mata (PSB-BA) was the representative with legitimacy to enter the consultation. Our students presented the problem, contextualized it and were then asked two questions:

1) The provision for reserving vacancies for proportional candidacies, inscribed in paragraph 3 of article 10 of Law No. 9,504/97, must also be observed for the composition of executive committees and national, state and municipal directories of political parties, their committees provisional bodies and other equivalent bodies?

2) If the answer to the first question is positive, they will be rejected by the Electoral Court, under the terms of Resolution-TSE no. 23.465/ 2015, requests for annotation from party leadership bodies that have not observed the percentages provided for in § 3 of art. 10 of Law No. 9,504/97?

4. Do we know how and when this rule will be put into practice? Is there any kind of supervision?

Daniel Falcão : Given what was decided, there is a kind of recommendation for the parties, and not a sanction. The answer to our second question was negative: there should not be any type of sanction, because the Law does not provide for it. However, Minister Luís Roberto Barroso reinforced that it would be up to the TSE to send an appeal to the legislator, so that he could take the step of making it mandatory, with some type of punishment or impediment from registration for those who did not fulfill this gender reservation.

Rafael Carneiro : The court established a thesis and warned parliament and political parties about the need to comply with this recommendation. It was even pointed out that, if parliament remains silent, the Electoral Court itself, in the future, may apply sanctions in specific cases.

5. How does it feel, after the trial, to see this result?

Daniel Falcão : Provoking, through the work of students, this debate at TSE is one of the greatest victories of my career. Regardless of not having a possible sanction, it was a gigantic victory for society and the Brazilian political scene. It is a message that everyone should be concerned about gender participation in Brazilian politics.

Rafael Carneiro: In my opinion, it was the most relevant measure in recent years to promote female political participation. Major strategic decisions are made at party level, and female empowerment, in these instances, will result in less gender inequality in politics. We are so far from equality that, first, we need to reach less inequality, to then achieve equality.

6. What are the impacts of the decision on the IDP Constitutional Law Clinic and on student participation in activities like these?

Daniel Falcão : The decision will encourage and make the Clinic grow, not only in quality, but in interest as well. It will reinforce the idea of ​​clinics. We have to use this as an instrument of inspiration, so that students want to help, work and change society. It will be an incentive for students who want to roll up their sleeves and put their sweat into their work. This has to be the hallmark of IDP: we can change our reality with study and work.

Rafael Carneiro: This result marks the history of clinics within the IDP. It shows the importance of strategic and high-impact advocacy. Students are able to perceive, based on the practical result, the social transcendence that the knowledge obtained at university can generate. There is an inspiring phrase, for me, from Karl Marx: “Until now, philosophers have been concerned with interpreting the world in various ways. What matters is transforming it.” This is a mark of associating theoretical knowledge with social transformation. May this also inspire all IDP students.

7. Finally, what are the consequences of this result for Brazil?

Rafael Carneiro: The changes that were made to the legislation, for greater political participation by women, did not have the expected results. We believe that female empowerment, within the parties, will result in greater practical effects from competitive candidates. We expect the effects to come over a course of time.

Daniel Falcão: There will be consequences, maybe not at the pace we would like it, but political parties will start adhering to this idea, some faster and some slower. If a party moves, it already shows the victory.