Runoff in São Paulo as Boulos, Nunes Vie for Mayor
The race for São Paulo’s mayor will go to a runoff, with incumbent Ricardo Nunes and leftist lawmaker Guilherme Boulos facing off on October 27, The Associated Press reports.
This comes after a closely contested first round of voting on Sunday, where self-help guru turned far-right politician Pablo Marçal narrowly missed out on a spot in the second round.
Marçal’s campaign was marked by controversy, including a televised debate where he was struck with a metal chair by former TV anchor José Luiz Datena, who was also running for mayor. Further incidents included an aide to Marçal punching an opponent’s representative, and the publication of a falsified medical report alleging cocaine use by Boulos. The document, debunked by local media, led to Marçal’s Instagram account being suspended for 48 hours.
Despite Marçal’s controversial tactics, he garnered support from segments of former President Jair Bolsonaro’s base, who were attracted to his fiery rhetoric. However, Bolsonaro himself is backing Nunes.
Meanwhile, in Rio de Janeiro, incumbent Mayor Eduardo Paes secured a fourth non-consecutive term after winning an absolute majority in the first round. His victory came despite facing off against Alexandre Ramagem, the former chief of Brazil’s intelligence agency under Bolsonaro, who was backed by the ex-president.
While Bolsonaro’s support failed to propel Ramagem to a runoff, his son Carlos achieved success in Rio’s municipal assembly, receiving the highest number of votes for any councilor.
Beyond São Paulo and Rio, Brazilians across the country cast their ballots to decide the next mayors, deputy mayors, and councilors in all 5,569 municipalities. With over 155 million eligible voters, nearly 1,000 transgender candidates participated in the elections, a number that tripled since the last local elections in 2019.
