Brazil has 14.4 million people with disabilities, corresponding to 7.3% of the country's population. However, for the 2026 elections, only 499 candidates declared some disability to the Electoral Court, representing about 2.4% of total candidacies. This number, although low, represents an evolution compared to the 1.6% registered in 2022, when 476 candidates with disabilities ran for elected positions.
The research was compiled by researcher Laís Silveira Costa, from the National School of Public Health Sérgio Arouca, affiliated with Fiocruz. The data reveal that, in 2022, of the 476 candidates with disabilities who ran in the elections, only eight were elected, evidencing the difficulty this portion of the population faces in achieving effective representativeness in political power.
The profile of candidates with disabilities also exposes significant inequalities. In both elections analyzed, participation is mostly composed of white men with physical disabilities. No declared candidacies were recorded from people with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities. A notable finding is the five-fold growth in the proportion of autistic candidates, which rose from 2.7% to 13.4%.
Among women, the gap between the general population and candidates is even more pronounced. Although 8.1% of Brazilian women have some disability, they represent only 1% of declared candidacies, evidencing a double exclusion: both by disability status and by gender.
