Brazil votes in local elections with eyes on 2026 presidential race By Reuters
By Eduardo Simões and Anthony Boadle
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilians voted for mayors and city councilors on Sunday in more than 5,500 municipal elections, with polls showing conservatives in most major cities, setting the political landscape in the country ahead of the 2026 presidential race.
All eyes are on the mayoral vote in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, where three candidates are neck and neck after a strong campaign, setting the stage for a second round on October 27.
Center-right Mayor Ricardo Nunes, who led the race until last week, is tied for second place with 26% of the vote with digital activist Pablo Marçal, an unprecedented split in the back-to-back vote, according to polls on Saturday. .
Left-wing Congressman Guilherme Boulos, who is backed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his Workers Party, surged ahead on the eve of the election and leads the field with 29%, pollster Datafolha found.
Marçal, an anti-establishment politician who has been in the election for his attacks on his opponents, ran an underfunded social media campaign with little to no TV time. He has been in the news for weeks as the fifth runner-up who was furious hit him with a chair during a televised debate.
Polling revealed that those who are associated with Lula are facing a problem as the reputation of the president has declined in his third term.
“As long as democracy exists, people’s right to choose will exist, for better or for worse,” said Lula after voting on Sunday. “What we will not allow to happen is for people to vote without knowing.”
He has largely avoided joining the mayoral candidates’ campaigns, although their success will boost his chances in 2026, when he is expected to run for re-election.
On the right, candidates associated with former hardline President Jair Bolsonaro fared better, although he was barred from seeking elected office until 2030 because of his baseless attacks on Brazil’s voting system.
“Anti-establishment views have become the norm,” said political risk expert Creomar de Souza.
Lula’s Workers Party is in danger of not winning a single capital, noted Andre Cesar, an analyst at Hold Legislative Advisors.
Both analysts said Lula may have kept his campaign small to avoid having to deal with losing candidates.
Bolsonaro also stayed away from the Sao Paulo campaign, which made his engagement difficult. He officially endorsed Nunes for re-election, but avoided filming his campaign video.
He appeared to be distancing himself from Nunes as the anti-establishment Marçal grew in the polls from a dark horse to a contender. On Sunday, Bolsonaro said he would support whoever takes on Boulos in a possible runoff.
Voting starts at 8 am (1100 GMT) and closes at 5 pm (2000 GMT). To win outright in the first round, candidates for mayor of cities with 200,000 or more voters need to win more than 50% of the valid votes.
