In the municipal elections that will take place on Sunday, October 12, 11,298 citizens of Brazil who live in Portugal are able to vote. In 2021, in Previous municipal election, the number was 5353, which represents an increase of 111%.
This data shows that, in the last five years, 5945 Brazilian immigrants went to the parish council of the neighborhood where they live to demonstrate the desire to go to the polls and elect the future municipal leaders in Portugal. This process, called census, is not automatic, so it requires the proactivity of the immigrant.
In recent months, especially after the May legislative election of May, Brazilian leaders have started a campaign on social networks to encourage census. One of these campaigns was the “Those who vote account”, with the objective of encouraging this electoral registration. Who was ahead was Luso-Brazilian Maycon Santos, who celebrates the increase of citizens who made the right to vote in Portugal in these elections. “We believe information is power,” says Maycon to DN Brazil.
Nilzete Pacheco, from Instituto Brasil, was also engaged in the campaign for the vote of Brazilians. “By voting, Brazilians exert a fundamental right and contribute for the strengthening of a more inclusive and equalist policy And thus exercising the exercise of citizenship still allows them to interact and help in decisions, ”he says to the newspaper.
Immigrant also sees the power of vote as a way to strengthen relationships between the two countries. “The Brazilian must be aware of the importance of vote in Portugal because in this way it opens doors for decisions and the strengthening of ties: Elections are an opportunity to strengthen ties between Brazil and Portugal, fostering dialogue and cooperation between the two nations ”reflects.
The agency itself for integration, migrations and asylum (AIMA) made publications on social networks to encourage census. This is the only election in which in a large set of nationalities to vote. Brazilians, on the other hand, are the only ones outside the European Union (EU) that can vote for all claims, provided they have the status of equal political rights.
But this recent increase in subscribers did not occur without administrative obstacles on the part of some parish councils, which were part of the campaign. “We feel that there are difficulties for the community to understand the Portuguese political system. We supported step by step in citizens’ census. Who face various administrative obstacles. Our role was to explain rights and how to exercise them. We simultaneously act with public entities to effect rights. We face various situations of ignorance of the law ”explains the Luso-Brazilian, who is an elected member of the Penha de França Parish Council
Arrived at DN Brazil Several reports – also faced by our team – difficulties to get registration, from lack of knowledge of employees on how to make the process, different rules in parish councils of the same city and even the refusal of the residence title valid by the current decree that makes all documents up to date.