The figure, released on Sept. 23, represents a tiny fraction of the roughly 21,000 candidates on the ballot but marks a historic surge in Indigenous political participation, according to data compiled by the Indigenous umbrella organization APIB.
Among the newcomers is Tereza Arapium, a woman from the Indigenous community running for a seat in Rio de Janeiro’s state congress. Arapium has taken an unconventional approach, distributing campaign leaflets made from actual leaves while urging, “Indigenous women need to have a voice and occupy decision‑making spaces for our territories, for Mother Earth, and for the environment.”
APIB says the record comes as Indigenous groups intensify demands for the government to accelerate the official recognition of their territories – a status that would grant legal protection against invasions and shield Indigenous interests from agribusiness, energy and infrastructure projects.
The organization has publicly backed the reelection of left‑leaning President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, praising his creation of a Ministry of Indigenous Affairs and the recent resumption of land recognitions, while criticizing the slow pace of those recognitions and the administration’s plan to allow oil drilling near the Amazon River’s mouth. Lula has insisted any drilling would be carried out in the safest possible manner.
Lula’s bid for a second term faces a tight race against Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, according to opinion polls. The election unfolds against an increasingly conservative political landscape where agribusiness wields significant influence over policy decisions.
If elected, the Indigenous candidates could bring heightened scrutiny to legislation affecting land rights, environmental protection and resource extraction, although their collective presence will still represent less than one per cent of the total candidate pool.