The unequal limit of electoral donations

As Brazil's electoral conventions conclude and candidacies are finalized, attention shifts to campaign financing. While public funds dominate, covering 81.4% of expenses in 2022, private donations still play a crucial role. A recent master's dissertation analyzed donor strategies, categorizing them into four types based on how they disperse funds across different political fields, states, and offices.

At the extremes are "pragmatic-dispersed" donors, who fund candidates across various ideologies and regions, and "ideological-concentrated" donors, who restrict contributions to a single ideological camp and a few specific candidates. Before the 2015 ban on corporate donations, companies largely comprised the pragmatic-dispersed group. Ideological donors are predominantly individuals. Financially, these profiles differ starkly: though pragmatic donors constitute only about 1% of all donors, they account for roughly 34% of private funding. The ideological group, making up about 96% of donors, typically contributes smaller amounts.

These ideological donors often favor right-wing candidates and legislative positions. Median donations for this group dropped from R$1,394 in 2018 to just R$2.21 in 2022, according to TSE data. However, a distinct category of "super-donors" among individuals can mobilize millions, distributing funds across executive and legislative races. Examples include Rubens Ometto (Cosan), who donated R$8 million in 2018, and the Grendene brothers, who collectively gave over R$11.5 million in 2022. Salim Mattar (Localiza) also donated R$4.1 million in 2018.

This reveals a vast disparity between "common citizens" and "super-donors." While ordinary citizens contribute symbolically, the elite leverage personal donations as a tool for access and influence, effectively filling the void left by corporate donors since 2015. Although companies can no longer donate, large private concentrations persist. Individuals can still donate up to 10% of their gross income from the previous year, a limit that creates vastly different ceilings based on income. This effectively exacerbates Brazil's existing inequalities, with a fixed, nominal cap for everyone being necessary to preserve citizen donations and reduce the influence of wealthy individuals.