Diálogos entre Marx e as teorias feministas sobre democracia e a fronteira entre público e privado

Abstract

This dissertation seeks to examine women as political subjects within modern democracy, based on a critique of the separation between the public and private spheres, found at the intersection of Karl Marx’s political theory and feminist theories. The central hypothesis of this research is that, considering the theoretical and empirical analyses presented in this study, structural inequalities manifest in ways that lead to the political exclusion of women, a process reinforced by the ways in which the relationship between public and private still shapes institutional spaces. The research is grounded in the conceptual premise that Brazilian democracy remains incomplete as long as it fails to ensure the effective political participation of women and that this exclusion cannot be fully understood without considering the interplay between capitalism, patriarchy, and structural racism. To support this argument, the dissertation engages with Karl Marx’s political thought, particularly his conceptions of the state, democracy, and human emancipation, as well as with Claude Lefort’s theory, which analyzes the disincorporation of power and the limits of representative democracy. Furthermore, the study highlights how the democratic system, as it is currently structured, reproduces historical inequalities and does not fully align with Marx’s vision of human emancipation. This critique is expanded through Nancy Fraser’s proposals regarding the limitations of formal democracy, particularly her advocacy for gender equity within the post-industrial welfare state through the universal care model. The theoretical research in this dissertation is complemented by an empirical investigation that provides practical grounding. To this end, the study presents qualitative analyses of semi-structured interviews conducted as part of the *De Olho nas Urnas* ("Keeping an Eye on the Ballot") project, carried out by the Federal University of Goiás in partnership with the National Observatory on Women in Politics. This project investigated the experiences of women candidates and elected officials in Brazil. The findings reveal that, despite legislative advancements, women continue to face structural violence that limits their role as political subjects in the public sphere, reflecting the barriers reinforced by the public-private divide. This research concludes that, beyond electoral quotas, it is essential to redefine this separation, and the state must adopt policies that ensure the redistribution of reproductive labor, the strengthening of support networks, and the implementation of seat quotas in parliament to guarantee a more just and equitable democracy. The investigations carried out in this dissertation reaffirm that articulating classical political theory, feminist theory, and the practical experience of women’s political participation in Brazil is fundamental for this redefinition and contributes to the broader debate on democratic inclusion and transformation.