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The right and the extreme right win the municipal elections in Brazil with São Paulo as the jewel in the crown

The right and the extreme right win the municipal elections in Brazil with São Paulo as the jewel in the crown

Ricardo Nunes, 56, the candidate sponsored without enthusiasm by Jair Bolsonaro, was re-elected this Sunday as mayor of São Paulo (12 million inhabitants) against the candidate supported by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Guilherme Boulos, 42. The conservative politician has achieved a comfortable victory (59% of the votes) free of surprises and with a 20-point difference compared to Boulos (40%). That of the richest city in Brazil, and the most populated in the southern hemisphere, was the main battle in the second round of the municipal elections, held this Sunday. These elections are held midway through Lula’s presidential term and have been a major setback for the Workers’ Party (PT). They show a Brazil that maintains its firm commitment to the classic and Bolsonaro right while punishing leftist formations. The progressives will govern two of the 26 state capitals, including one for Lula’s PT, compared to five in the hands of the far right and nine in the hands of the right.

Nunes, a gray right-wing technocrat, inherited the mayorship from his predecessor, who died of cancer. Having achieved the approval of the polls, he has now been at the helm of the metropolis and economic engine of Brazil for four years. Former president Jair Bolsonaro has supported him, but with great reluctance and after flirting with the candidate stranger who was left out in the first round, he guru of self-help Pablo Marçal. The person who has been deeply involved in the campaign for Nunes to win the São Paulo mayoralty has been Bolsonaro’s most advantaged pupil and possible successor, Tarcisio de Freitas, governor of São Paulo. Mayor Nunes thanked him after the victory. “I thank the greatest leader, without whom this victory would not be possible. The friend who gave me a hand in the most difficult moment, Governor Tarcísio de Freitas,” Nunes declared alongside the aforementioned.

In the middle of voting day, the governor has dealt a low blow of foul play to Boulos, the PT candidate. De Freitas has suggested, without evidence or proper names, that Brazil’s largest criminal group, the First Capital Command (PCC), a brotherhood of criminalsHe has asked for the vote for the leftist in prisons. In any case, the victory of the right in São Paulo strengthens the governor, who allows himself to be loved, is more pragmatic than his political godfather and is in no hurry to be a presidential candidate. Bolsonaro is disabled until 2030 for questioning the security of electronic ballot boxes.

Some 30 million voters were called to vote this Sunday in fifty municipalities, including 15 capitals, where the dispute was not resolved in the first round, three weeks ago.

One of the few joys that the recount must have given President Lula is that, in most of the disputes within the right, the classic parties—more centrist or less ideologized—have defeated the hard right of his predecessor.

For analyst Thomas Traumann, “the same municipalities that have highlighted the fragilities of the PT, the left and Lula’s Government have also shown that former President Bolsonaro has lost control of anti-PTism. [el odio al PT]”, as he wrote in the magazine Look.

The municipal elections have been resolved in a vote held practically on the second anniversary of the very close victory that Lula achieved in 2022 at the head of a broad coalition that ranged from the classic right to the extreme left. Furthermore, the leftist president faces a Congress dominated by the right that holds back many initiatives and that, when he agrees to negotiate, charges any parliamentary support at a very high price.

President Lula did not participate in person in the final stretch of Boulos’ campaign. And he has not voted either because that required traveling from Brasilia to São Bernardo do Campo (São Paulo). Although he has returned to work, he is still recovering from the severe blow he suffered in the back of the head eight days ago, which required five stitches and left him prevented travel to the summit of the BRICS+. The president turned 79 this Sunday.

Despite Lula’s return to power, the PT is going through very complicated times. It became the most powerful electoral machine in Latin America at the beginning of the century, although its territorial power was never a majority. This is the first time since 2016 that a state capital has won. In the last decade, its municipal power has continued to diminish. In these elections he had given up presenting his own candidates in São Paulo and many other cities. He had to be content with supporting those of other parties in return for the support they gave him in the presidential elections.

Only one of the four candidates that the PT managed to get into the state capitals in this second round has won and he has done so by the minimum, something that is becoming routine in Brazil and the rest of the planet. The PT candidate, Evandro Leitão, will be mayor of Fortaleza (Ceará) after taking 0.7 points (less than 11,000 votes) from the candidate of the Freedom Party, the acronym that includes former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Nunes’ victory places the spotlight on her fellow candidate, a former retired military police officer whom Bolsonaro chose for that role. Colonel Ricardo Mello Araújo, who was in charge of ROTA, the intervention unit of the Military Police of São Paulo, has been investigated in at least eight cases of homicide due to deaths in police operations, as revealed by the newspaper Estadão. His campaign responded that all investigations were closed by judges.

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Michelle Williams

I'm Michelle Williams, an enthusiastic author specializing in captivating entertainment content on Rwcglobally.com. With a passion for storytelling and a keen eye for the latest trends, I aim to engage readers with compelling narratives that reflect the dynamic landscape of the entertainment industry. Join me on Rwcglobally.com to explore the world of film, television, music, and more, as we uncover the stories that define contemporary culture.

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