Strong setback to Lula in Sao Paulo // The foundations are laid for the race in 2026
▲ Ricardo Nunes, from the right-wing Brazilian Democratic Movement, was re-elected as mayor of Sao Paulo.Photo Afp
Reuters and Ap
La Jornada Newspaper
Monday, October 28, 2024, p. 25
Sao Paulo., The mayor of Sao Paulo, Ricardo Nunes, supported by the former far-right president Jair Boslonaro, achieved re-election yesterday for another four years in Brazil’s largest city, by defeating the leftist candidate Guilherme Boulos, in a municipal second round which confirmed a shift to the right of voters that could influence the presidential and legislative elections of 2026.
Voters voted in the second round in 51 cities, including 15 state capitals.
The right and center-right won 14 mayoralties, although Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party did not obtain the expected results. The leftist Workers’ Party (PT), led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, won only one of those races.
Nunes, of the Brazilian Democratic Movement, obtained 59.44 percent of the valid votes compared to 40.56 percent of his opponent, with 97.10 percent of the votes counted, according to figures from the Superior Electoral Tribunal.
On a day of moderate rain, the influx of voters seemed to be lower than in the first round on the 6th. The polls closed at 5 p.m. and Nunes’ victory was confirmed less than two hours later.
Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo, said Lula and Bolsonaro suffered defeats in the various mayoral elections.
Neither of them had positive results in these elections. Bolsonaro hid in several places. Wherever he appeared too, he lostMelo commented to The Associated Press agency.
Lula lost the myth that he can transfer voteshe added. It’s not that simple, these are different times. His government could do relatively well in the economy, but so far no one is excited. The president had a big bet in Sao Paulo, in the city of Natal, and he did not win.
Nunes was backed by Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas, who emerges from municipal elections as the likely standard bearer of the Brazilian right to succeed Bolsonaro, who was banned from seeking elected office for eight years.
Hours before, De Freitas added one more chapter to the problematic elections in the metropolis. In a press conference he alleged, without providing evidence, that the police had detected that the criminal organization First Capital Command had supported Boulos.
The defeated leftist – who accused Nunes of harboring members of that criminal organization in his government – denounced at a press conference that the governor should be arrested for his comments during the elections.
Boulos filed a request with the electoral court to make De Freiras, also an ally of Bolsonaro, unable to be a candidate for popularly elected positions due to his statements.
Boulos’s defeat was a setback for Lula and evidences a shift to the right of the electorate as Brazil heads to the 2026 presidential elections.
The Sao Paulo race was important in laying the foundations for the 2026 elections, demonstrating that Bolsonaro’s right-wing movement remains strong, despite the fact that Brazil’s electoral authority disqualified him until 2030 for his unfounded attacks on the integrity of the electronic voting system of the country.
Lula’s party won the mayoralty in only one state capital, Fortaleza, in its political stronghold in northeastern Brazil.
The PT fared poorly in part because of Lula’s declining popularity and his reluctance to campaign for candidates at risk of defeat. A head injury suffered a week ago prevented him from campaigning in the final days of the race.
In Rio de Janeiro, current mayor Eduardo Paes was re-elected in the first round of voting for his fourth non-consecutive term. Paes, an enthusiastic Carnival supporter, had the support of Lula but focused his campaign on local issues against the Bolsonaro-backed candidate, Alexandre Ramagem.
Brazilians were also closely watching the results in Belo Horizonte, one of the country’s largest cities, where Mayor Fuad Noman edged out Bolsonaro supporter Bruno Engler.
