The far right of Jair Bolsonaro’s camp finds itself in the position of favorite after the first round of municipal elections throughout Brazil. In São Paulo, the most populous city, the left-wing candidate supported by President Lula narrowly qualified for the second round, but he is in an unfavorable tie against the outgoing mayor.
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The Liberal Party (PL), formation of Jair Bolsonaroelected in the first round the mayors of two of the 26 state capitals in the BrazilRio Branco (north), and Maceio (northeast). The PL, which is already the party with the most deputies and senators in Brazil, will have a representative in the second round in nine of the fifteen capitals where the election will be decided on October 27, compared to four for the Workers’ Party (PT ) of the current left-wing president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
In Sao Paulo, the largest megalopolis in Latin America, the outgoing mayor Ricardo Nunes, ally of Jair Bolsonaro, came first in the first round, with around 29.48% of the votes, and will face on October 27 Guilherme Boulos, dubbed by Lula (29.07%). Pablo Marçal, an influencer with an ultra-provocative style repeatedly accused of disinformation, finished third (28.14%).
An ally of Lula at the head of Rio
In Rio de Janeiro, the centrist Eduardo Paes, supported by Lula, was re-elected for a fourth term, winning in the first round, with more than 60% of the votes. Alexandre Ramagem, Jair Bolsonaro’s trusted man, came second with nearly 31% of the vote, a higher score than the polls predicted. His absence in the second round nevertheless represents a setback for the ex-far-right president (2019-2022).
In the second round, the left-wing president can still do well if Guilherme Boulos manages to win in the second round in Sao Paulo, thus placing allies at the head of the country’s two largest metropolises, with Eduardo Paes in Rio .
This municipal election took place at a time when the social network At issue: the non-compliance by the former Twitter with court decisions linked to the fight against disinformation.
During this election period, Brazil is being ravaged by forest fires. Paradoxically, the theme of the environment has been largely relegated to oblivion in the speeches of the main contenders. “ They should have talked about it more, they trivialized the fires. Sometimes we looked at the sky, and even though the weather was nice, we couldn’t see the sky because there was so much smoke. », deplores Jailma Rodrigues da Silva, voter in Rio de Janeiro.
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