Brazil

In October 2020, Brazilians will head to the polls to elect new mayors and city counselors in thousands of municipalities across the country. For the first time in history, Brazil’s thirty-five individual political parties will be required by law to allocate at least 30 percent of their campaign funding toward the election of women candidates.

Cleuzenir Barbosa, a retired teacher, was fed up with Brazil’s corrupt politics. She was also an avid supporter of Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right politician who won the presidency last year on the promise to clean up the capital.

A female lawmaker who attended a swearing-in ceremony in a business suit accentuating her breasts is causing a furor in Brazil — a deeply conflicted country that recently elected an ultra-conservative president but is also known for skimpy swimsuits and exuberant celebrations during Carnival.

The controversy began when Ana Paula da Silva, from the southern state of Santa Catarina, showed up to the Feb. 1 ceremony in a tight, two-piece red pantsuit that showed deep cleavage.

Sao Paulo - Joenia Wapichana never thought she would get into politics.

The 43-year-old indigenous lawyer also never imagined she'd make history, not just once but on three occasions.

But when she saw an "extreme, urgent necessity" to protect the rights of her community, she knew she had to take action.

With just one week to go before Brazil’s Oct. 7 presidential elections, up to 10 percent of the country’s male voters remain undecided — and roughly 19 percent of female voters. Many voters and observers, both inside and outside Brazil, are worried about the current front-runner, far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro, who is expected to win enough votes to compete in the runoff slated for Oct. 28 — and women may be key to preventing his election.

Hundreds of thousands of women across Brazil took to the streets Saturday to protest the presidential candidacy of far-right hopeful Jair Bolsonaro, known for making disparaging comments against women and other minorities, as well as supporting the use of torture.