Paraguassu is one of the record number of Black candidates running for state and federal office in October 2022 elections.
REUTERS/Amanda PerobelliSALVADOR, Brazil, Sept 20 (Reuters) - For the first time in its 132-year history, the Brazilian census now underway includes a question counting members of the "quilombo" communities founded by runaway slaves.
Quilombo residents now hope that a proper count of their numbers and more elected voices will open the door to improved social services and guarantees of rights for people and places long left off official maps.
Bolsonaro was fined 50,000 reais ($10,000) in 2017 for insulting quilombo residents, saying that "they do nothing" and are "not even good for procreating."
On Ilha de Mare, quilombo residents have for generations survived on the hard work of artisanal fishermen and fisherwomen.