The far right and the threat to female councilors in Santa Catarina.

The removal from office of a city councilwoman in Santa Catarina gained widespread attention last week. Maria Tereza Capra, from São Miguel do Oeste, had her parliamentary mandate revoked for denouncing a Nazi salute made by a group of Bolsonaro supporters who do not accept the election results. An unjust process, but also an episode of gender-based political violence. Before having her mandate revoked with the vote of 10 men, Maria Tereza was persecuted, threatened, and had to leave the city to protect herself.

Maria Tereza is being assisted by the Human Rights Defenders, Communicators, and Environmentalists Protection Program of the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, and is also being monitored by a federal team with emergency security measures. The councilwoman is awaiting the publication of the Legislative Decree with the result of the impeachment in order to file a legal appeal to reverse the unjust decision and regain her mandate conferred upon her at the polls by the population of São Miguel do Oeste.

Sadly, these acts of violence have been repeated against other women in Santa Catarina. Out of solidarity with Maria Tereza, councilwomen Ana Lucia, from Joinville, and Carla Ayres, from Florianópolis, received emails containing serious insults and threats. Giovana Mondardo, from Criciúma, also a victim of the same threats, faced impeachment proceedings for the same reason as Maria Tereza, but her case was dismissed. Marlina Oliveira, from Brusque, who recently had her mandate threatened for opposing the local government, was also attacked this week. Similarly, in Concórdia and Maravilha, councilwomen Ingrid Fiorentin and Eliana Simionato are being persecuted by the far-right.

What do they all have in common? They are left-wing women occupying spaces that were traditionally, in a way, "reserved" for men. The removal of Maria Tereza from office cannot be seen as an isolated case, just as the persecution of women from different regions of Santa Catarina is not a mere coincidence. It has nothing to do with "breach of decorum," as the councilors who persecute our female councilors claim. It is an orchestrated attack on left-wing women and on democracy. But why do they want to intimidate, silence, and mute these women? Because they bring important issues to the local legislature, they alter the routine of parliament, they challenge the status quo. They denounce, they oppose, they oversee.

And what are we going to do in the face of this offensive? We, men and women who fight for a more just, plural, and diverse country, must fight to ensure that female representation is effectively guaranteed. We need to organize ourselves, together with Brazilian society, to defend these women. Initiatives such as the Humaniza Movement in Santa Catarina and the Marielle Franco Institute, with its national reach, are becoming increasingly important in the face of the far-right's sexist offensive. Our struggle neither begins nor ends with the election of more women. The State needs to protect the lives of these councilwomen, ensure their mandates are guaranteed, and prevent them from being victims of any type of violence.