Brazil’s candidates court women with promises to combat violence

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Clutching an oversized knife onstage during a recent campaign stop, Brazilian presidential candidate Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro vowed to inflict chemical castration on “rapists and child abusers,” drawing thunderous applause.The tough-on-crime message comes as Bolsonaro seeks to appeal to women, who account for 53% of the electorate and played a decisive role in handing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva a narrow 2022 victory over Bolsonaro’s father, former President Jair Bolsonaro.“Women are starting to have a perception of their role in elections,” said Rachel Ripani, co-founder of the movement Levante Mulheres Vivas, or Rise Alive Women. “They’re seeing their vote as something that they don’t want to be manipulated.”Polls show Lula with a narrow lead over Sen. Bolsonaro in the Oct. 4 vote, but neither candidate is expected to win outright, making a runoff likely. Both have been courting swing voters, including women, with proposals to combat gender-based violence, a major campaign issue as violence against women reaches record levels and several high-profile cases draw attention.“We’re building a Brazil (…) free of femicide, where no woman, inside or outside the ho...