Simões Filho City Council will be reduced from 19 to 17 councilors. Credit: Disclosure
From 2025 onwards, Bahia must have at least 25 fewer councilors. This will occur due to the results of the 2022 Census, which directly impact the number of parliamentarians in all cities in Bahia. Municipalities with up to 15 thousand people, for example, cannot have more than nine councilors, according to what is established in the Federal Constitution. Those who lost population, therefore, run the risk of being impacted.
In total, 229 cities in Bahia saw a decrease in inhabitants, but in only 30 places this will cause a mandatory reduction in the number of councilors – check out the complete list in the graphs. The largest cities impacted are Simões Filho and Candeias, located in the Salvador Metropolitan Region (RMS), which are expected to go from 19 and 17 parliamentarians to 17 and 15, respectively.
Another 14 cities in Bahia may have an increase in the number of councilors, but this is not mandatory. Unlike the reduction, the increase only occurs if the respective council chambers approve this increase in the number of parliamentarians. If no city in Bahia decides to increase, the reduction in the number of councilors in Bahia could reach 60. Currently, Bahia has 4,630 councilors.
The survey was carried out by CORREIO with official data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and the number of councilors in each city in Bahia made available by the Regional Electoral Court of Bahia (TRE-BA).
Cities that will see a reduction in the number of councilors. Credit: Quintino Andrade/CORREIO
According to Claudio André, political scientist and professor at the University of International Integration of Afro-Brazilian Lusofonia (Unilab), in order for there to be a change in the number of vacancies available for councilors in 2024, parliamentarians themselves will need to approve the change in the organic laws of each municipality. “The updating of the Organic Law is carried out in a two-round vote with more than two-thirds of the votes. So, it has to be a qualified mobilization of debate and deliberation,” he explained.
Jaime Barreiros, professor and judicial analyst at TRE, confirmed that the reduction is mandatory, as it is a constitutional rule. “I understand that this adaptation would only not be mandatory if the Census results were released after October, less than a year before the election. As stated before, the Constitution must be complied with and municipalities must adapt. (…) If this does not happen, adaptation may occur through provocation to the judiciary”, he explained.
Where will it fall?
Councilor of Candeias, Arnaldo Araújo did not like the reduction in the number of parliamentarians in his city. “It was the municipality who had to take action, as it is unusual for a city that had more than 80 thousand inhabitants to suddenly have 72 thousand people. The municipality is the first to be impacted, as revenue will decrease. If they didn’t do it, it’s because they’re not interested,” he said.
A pre-candidate for re-election, Arnaldo stated that all 17 city councilors must run again in 2024, which will intensify the dispute. “Whether it’s difficult or easy, the reality is that there will only be 15 elected. Whoever has the longest nail will climb the wall. That’s what’s going to happen. Two chairs will fall”, he lamented.
In Adustina, 360 kilometers from Salvador, mayor Paulo Sergio (PSD) believes that the reduction from 11 to nine councilors in his city will not happen, despite the population having fallen from 15.7 thousand in 2010 to 14.2 thousand, in 2022. To this end, he adheres to an injunction from January 2023 that did not allow there to be a reduction in transfers from the Municipal Participation Fund (FPM) to the city due to the drop in population.
porPaulo Sergio
“In our response, the judge understood that the municipality of Adustina does not only have 14 thousand inhabitants but more than 16 thousand and this would mean that the city maintains the 11 seats. When the registration of candidacies begins, the Public Prosecutor’s Office will speak out , the Electoral Court will speak out claiming that Adustina has to drop to nine seats, but with this injunction, the legal department will inform that the municipality does not have 14 thousand inhabitants. The IBGE says it has 14 thousand, but there is a challenge from the municipality”
This dispute is also based on the population projected by IBGE, in 2021, for the city of Adustina, which was 17.2 thousand people. However, in the 2022 census, this increase in inhabitants was not confirmed. On the contrary, the city saw a drop in population. IBGE Information Dissemination Supervisor in Bahia, Mariana Viveiros explained that the estimate is a demographic calculation and not the result of field research, as is the case with censuses.
“[A estimativa] is based, above all, on the evolution of the population between the two most recent Censuses and repeats a factor annually, until new census or counting data appears – or there is some legal change, for example, of territory, with a gain/loss of area that implies population gain/loss”, he explained.
She also said that a variation between the estimate and the Census is not, in fact, a demographic or population variation. “It is a variation between a calculation with limits and outdated, but necessary and which IBGE needs to do by law. It’s reality,” she concluded. For the specialist, therefore, the 2022 census is the most up-to-date and accurate way of knowing the population of a city.
And where will it increase?
In cities that can increase the number of councilors, political articulations have already begun and in Vitória da Conquista, at least, it has already become a reality. At the beginning of the month, the city councilors unanimously approved the amendment project to the Organic Law that defined the increase from 21 to 23 councilors.
President of the House, councilor Hermínio Oliveira (PODE) explained that, even with the increase in the number of councilors, the Chamber will not become more expensive to the Municipal Treasury. “It will not increase the value of the transfer. The transfer remains the same and will increase representation”, he assessed.
Cities in Bahia that may see an increase in the number of councilors. Credit: Quintino Andrade/CORREIO
The curious thing is that the city could already have 23 councilors since the 2012 election, when the 2010 census had calculated that the population of Vitória da Conquista was 308.9 thousand inhabitants. According to the Federal Constitution, cities between 300,000 and 450,000 inhabitants can have up to 23 parliamentarians. According to the 2022 census, Conquista’s population grew to 370,900.
This situation experienced by the city is similar to what is currently happening in Santo Antônio de Jesus. Since the 2010 census, the city could have 17 councilors. However, there are only 14. “The increase was not viable, because at the end of the year, we always return resources to the municipality, which invests in the city. Last year, for example, there was almost R$4 million left over and, with this money, the city council carried out investment projects in family farming and road works”, said Chico de Dega, president of the city council.
Also according to the parliamentarian, if an increase to 17 councilors is approved, these extra resources will no longer be left. “In fact, the increase would not result in losses for the municipality, but it would reduce surpluses. And if there was any left over, it would be the minimum, as there are expenses for the councilor’s salary, advisor, fuel, daily allowance… all of this is an expense,” he stated. Currently, each city councilor can employ up to three parliamentary advisors.
Despite this situation, Chico admits that there is already an internal debate in the house for the number of councilors to be increased to at least 15, for the 2024 election. “Maybe it will go to 15, but there are some who want 17. This year , there will still be this clash”, he confirmed. Another curious situation experienced in the city is that Santo Antônio de Jesus is the only municipality in Bahia that has an even number of councilors.
“The law does not require an odd number. She says it is up to 17 councilors, but we can have less,” she argued. And when the vote is tied? Chico responds: “it’s difficult to break even. The mayor has a majority here. But there were times when it was more heated. Then, when there was a tie, the president of the Chamber would cast a casting vote,” he said.
Number of deputies may also become smaller
It’s not just the number of councilors that could fall in the state. Bahia could also lose four deputies, two federal and two state, according to a survey by the Inter-Union Parliamentary Advisory Department (Diap) carried out at the request of the newspaper Folha de São Paulo. This may occur, as the Federal Constitution determines that representation in the Chamber of Deputies is proportional to the population of each state.
However, the number of seats per state has not changed since 1993. For this to happen, the Chamber of Deputies must carry out the redivision through a complementary law, which did not occur after the release of data from the 2000 and 2010. “And the more time passes without taking the census numbers into account, the more lag we will have. And the greater the lag, the more difficult it will be to approve this update, as we will have states losing seats”, explained political scientist Claudio André.
If this redesign happens, it is certain that Bahia will lose space in the National Congress, falling from 39 to 37 federal deputies. Rio de Janeiro would be the most affected: a drop from 46 to 42 deputies. Rio Grande do Sul, Piauí, Paraíba (two fewer vacancies each), Pernambuco and Alagoas (one less vacancy) would also fall. The benefiting states would be Santa Catarina, Pará (four more vacancies), Amazonas (two more vacancies), Minas Gerais, Ceará, Goiás and Mato Grosso (one more vacancy).
“In this historical moment that Brazilian democracy is experiencing, the ideal would be for us to maintain these seats, but obviously that is a proportional criterion. It was important, perhaps, to have a law that guaranteed an automatic update with each census. This would help to avoid causing major distortions like the ones we have seen”, defended the political scientist.
What does a councilor do?
The councilor is a representative elected to be part of the municipal Legislative Branch. Your main role is to create, debate and approve local laws that affect the city in which you live. In addition, he supervises the actions of the city hall, contributes to the city’s budget and represents the interests of citizens in the City Council. He is also responsible for listening to and forwarding the population’s demands, promoting dialogue between government and citizens.
What does a state deputy do?
The state deputy is a representative elected to the Legislative Assembly. Its primary function is to legislate on matters of state competence, drafting and approving laws that affect the population and public administration. Furthermore, state deputies have the duty to supervise the actions of the State Government, contribute to the preparation of the budget and represent the interests of citizens before the Assembly. They must also act as intermediaries between the population and the state government, listening to demands and seeking solutions to local problems.
What does a federal deputy do?
The federal deputy is a representative elected to the Chamber of Deputies, the legislative house of the National Congress at the federal level. Its main responsibility is to legislate on issues of national scope, drafting and approving laws that affect the entire country. Furthermore, federal deputies have the role of monitoring the actions of the Federal Government, participating in the preparation of the federal budget and representing the interests of citizens before Congress. They also act as intermediaries between the population and government, listening to demands and seeking solutions to national issues.
