In the presidential elections next Sunday (02), 20.972 Brazilian voters in Italy are eligible to vote. But many of them may not show up at the polling stations.
The reason is the reduction in the number of polling stations, promoted by the Overseas Electoral Registry Office, in Brasilia.
The decision is causing disruption for many Brazilians in Italy. This year, voting sessions will be held in the two consular jurisdictions, respectively in Milan, in the north, and in Rome, in the center of the country.
Two other voting locations were suspended, one in the city of Venice and another in Florence. These two sessions are part of those that were opened for the first time for the 2018 presidential elections.
Brazilians in Italy
According to the Italian National Statistics Institute (Istat), 50.666 Brazilians reside in Italy (data from January 2021). The majority (13.977) live in the region of Lombardy, in the north, where the city of Milan is located. In second place is the region of Lazio, where the city of Milan is located. capital, Rome, which has 6.117 Brazilian residents. Veneto (5.628), Piedmont (4.896), Emilia Romagna (4.012) and Tuscany (3.852) follow.
When asked by RFI about the reason that led the Brazilian government to reduce the number of polling places abroad, the Brazilian Consulate in Rome responded that “the decision was made by Overseas Electoral Registry Office, in Brasília, and communicated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”. When asked how much it costs to organize polling stations in Rome and Milan, the consulate stated that “the information is centralized at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Brasília”.
The resolution harms Brazilians who live in Veneto and Tuscany, regions in the northeast and center of the country with a large concentration of voters who previously had closer voting locations.
Expenses paid by the citizen
The Brazilian Consulate in Rome informed RFI that during the presidential elections, the cities of Milan and Rome will each have a single polling place with several ballot boxes. “Milan’s jurisdiction takes care of the eight regions in the north and Rome’s jurisdiction is responsible for the 12 regions in the center and south of the country.”
Brazilians who live far from Milan or Rome have to travel at their own expense in order to vote. On social media, many Brazilian voters in Italy protest against the lack of assistance from consulates for transportation to the voting station.
Some are organizing groups to charter buses and reduce the cost of traveling so they can vote. This is the case of Brazilians who live in Tuscany. On the chartered bus from Florence to Rome, each return ticket costs €26, around R$150. A round-trip train ticket costs around €90, almost R$500.
The distance between the two cities is 275 km, so 550 km round trip.
Abstention for financial reasons
Professor Nair Aparecida Pires, 56 years old, has lived in Italy since 1994 and lives in the city of Treviso, in the Veneto region, in the northeast of the country. According to her, what is happening is disrespect towards voters who had already transferred the title to Venice.
“In fact, the consulate had advised and advised us to transfer the title to Venice. Now what results is that people here have transferred the vote to the Venice polling station, but will have to vote in Milan. This causes physical and financial strain. Because it’s not close and it’s a lot of expense” explains the teacher.
According to her, many Brazilians will not vote for financial reasons. “I have two children who would vote, but the trip of three people from the same family from Veneto to Milan just for the purpose of voting is too high an expense. Therefore, I am the only one in the family who will vote. I have Brazilian friends in the same situation,” she says. (With information from RFI)
