1922 - 2022

one century of women’s suffrage movement in Brazil

Abstract

The article raises the antecedents of the struggle for political rights for women in Brazil, especially the second half of the 19th century. It presents the main names of Brazilian suffragism of the early 20th century, such as Leolinda Daltro, Almerinda Gama, Celina Guimarães and Bertha Lutz, as well as their spheres and methods of action. It points out the main legislative initiatives that made up the scenario in the previous period and during 1922, when the Brazilian Federation for Women’s Progress was organized, and its development throughout the decade until the 1930s. It addresses the fundamental elements for the consolidation of Bertha Lutz’s leadership, with the influence of American suffragettes, and how her notoriety eventually overshadowed the performance of other feminist leaders. It makes a reflection about how telling this history after one century of suffragism may contribute to the actual reflections of the field of the Brazilian women struggles for rights.