Manuela d'Ávila

Manuela Pinto Vieira d'Ávila (born 18 August 1981) is a Brazilian journalist, author and politician.

As a member of the Communist Party of Brazil she served as a federal deputy for Rio Grande do Sul between 2007 and 2015, being the leader of her party in the Chamber of Deputies in 2013. She also served as a state deputy for her state between 2015 and 2019 and as a councilwoman for the state capital Porto Alegre between 2005 and 2007. In addition to this she has run for mayor of Porto Alegre three times unsuccessfully, in 2008, 2012 and 2020.

She was Fernando Haddad's vice presidential running mate in the Worker's Party presidential bid in the 2018 general election; the Haddad-d'Ávila ticket lost to Jair Bolsonaro in the second round of the presidential campaign.

In 2024 she announced her departure from the Communist Party of Brazil.

Biography

Born in Porto Alegre, D'Ávila started her political career in the student movement and eventually joined the Communist Party. She was the youngest city councilor in the history of Porto Alegre, being elected in 2004 at the age of 23. She was elected federal deputy in 2006 and was reelected in 2010. On both occasions, she was the single candidate with the most votes received in her state.

D'Ávila ran for mayor in her state's capital three times. In the first run, in 2008, she finished 3rd place. In her second run, in 2012, she placed 2nd, being defeated in the first round by José Fortunati of the Democratic Labor Party. In February 2020, d'Ávila publicly announced her intent to run for mayor of Porto Alegre for the Communist Party of Brazil in the 2020 Brazilian municipal elections. In May, the Workers' Party officially endorsed her candidacy by nominating Miguel Rossetto as her running mate. She lost in the second round to Sebastião Melo of the Brazilian Democratic Movement.