Although various reports have provided ample evidence that black women often come in last in many areas of Brazilian society (health care, entrepreneurship and even marriage, for example), there are also many success stories that should be recognized.
Some black women have claimed high positions in the corporations, some in law and academia, and there have been a number of women who have made historical accomplishments in the political realm.
In 2009, Marina Silva shook up the political world as a serious candidate to the presidency, and she is shaping up to be a solid candidate in the next election. Now, the oldest political party, the Brazilian branch of the Communist Party, has announced that a black woman will take the reins as its new president.
The Comitê Central do Parti do Comunista do Brasil (PC do B or Central Committee of the Communist Party of Brazil), gathered in the past 18-20 days, decided by proposition of its national president Renato Rabelo to designate Luciana Santos, vice president and congresswoman from Pernambuco, to replace him starting in the first quarter of 2015.
A resolution will be submitted for ratification by the future Central Committee to be voted on at the 13th Congress, to be held from Nov. 14 to 16 in São Paulo. The designation assumes the continuation of Rabelo as head of PCdoB during the transition period, which starts from the 13th Congress until the deadline for Luciana Santos to assume the presidency.
Santos was born in Recife (capital of Pernambuco in the northeast) on Dec. 29, 1965 . She comes from a large family with communist militancy. She is an electrical engineer, a profession which she hasn’t exercised directly since her entrance into politics. In 1992, she ran for city councilor, her first time running for a public office. Already for this election she obtained great voting support, coming in as the first substitute.
In 1994, she ran for the office of state representative, taking the first substitute position and taking office two years later.
Read the full story at blackwomenofbrazil.com
