Brazil: Ballotage Confirms the Defeat of Bolsonarism

Left and center-left parties elected mayors in 11 cities in nine different states on Sunday when the second round of elections took place.

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Considering the entire political spectrum currently existing in the South American country, the three most successful parties were the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), and the “We Can” Party (PODE).

"People are looking for more stable, responsible, and experienced leaders, who value science and respect the disease (COVID-19). The rejection of Bolsonaro is closely associated with his response to the pandemic," political scientist Sergio Abranches, as reported by BBC.

The Worker's Party (PT) got victories with Jose de Filippi in Diadema (Sao Paulo); Marilia Campos in Contagem city (Minas Gerais), Margarida Salomao in Juiz de Fora (Minas Gerais), and Marcelo Oliveira in Maua (Sao Paulo).

PSOL won with Edmilson Rodrigues in Belem (Para) but was defeated with Guilherme Boulos in Sao Paulo.

The PDT won three of the four cities in which it ran candidates. Jose Sarto triumphed in Fortaleza (Ceara), Edvaldo Nogueira in Aracaju (Sergipe), and Sergio Vidigal in Serra (Espiritu Santo).

The PSB achieved victories with Joao Campos in Recife (Pernambuco), Joao Henrique Caldas in Maceio (Alagoas), and Rubens Bomtempo in Petropolis (Rio de Janeiro).

Despite all this panorama of victories, the PCdoB was defeated by Manuela D’Avila in Porto Alegre (Rio Grande do Sul).

According to Maria do Socorro Sousa, a political scientist at the Federal University of Sao Carlos (UFSCar), the 2020 elections marked the reorganization of the party system two years after the victory of far-right politician Jair Bolsonaro, who is not currently a member of any political party.

“The Worker's Party continues to be the most important party on the left, although it no longer has the same hegemony as before. The PSOL emerges with important leaders, such as Boulos... There is a trend towards greater oxygenation of the left-field,” she commented.