Brazil vote: big night for far-right
President Jair Bolsonaro was not the only one to have a surprisingly strong night in Brazil's elections Sunday: the far-right incumbent's allies also beat expectations in congressional and governor's races.
Political analysts say that means hardline conservatives will be powerful players in the Latin American giant's new political landscape, weakening leftist front-runner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his Workers' Party (PT), even if he beats Bolsonaro in the October 30 presidential runoff.
Here is a look at some of the big wins for "Bolsonarismo":
- Congress -
Bolsonaro's Liberal Party (PL) is on track to be the largest party in the lower house of Congress, according to analysts.
Its newly elected congressmen include some of Bolsonaro's most controversial allies:
- Ex-environment minister Ricardo Salles won a seat for Sao Paulo. He presided over a surge in destruction in the Amazon rainforest and was forced to resign last year after coming under investigation for involvement in a timber trafficking scheme.
- Ex-health minister Eduardo Pazuello won a seat for Rio de Janeiro. The army general oversaw Brazil's response to Covid-19 during the worst phase of the pandemic, when hundreds of thousands of people died and severe oxygen shortages brought the health system in the northern city of Manaus to the brink of collapse.
- PL candidate Nikolas Ferreira, a 26-year-old social media personality, was the most-voted congressman-elect in the country, winning 1.4 million votes.
- Senate -
The PL and its allies won at least 15 of the 27 seats up for grabs in the 81-member Senate.
Bolsonaro allies elected include:
- Former football star Romario, a Senate member since 2015.
- Ex-science minister Marcos Ponte, Brazil's first and only astronaut, who defied opinion polls to beat Lula ally Marcio Franca in Sao Paulo.
- Ex-women's minister Damares Alves.
- Ex-agriculture minister Tereza Cristina.
- Ex-development minister Rogerio Marino.
- Vice President Hamilton Mourao, an army reserve general.
- Governors -
Far-right incumbent Claudio Castro (PL) easily won re-election as Rio de Janeiro state governor.
In Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populous and wealthiest state, PL candidate Tarcisio Freitas, Bolsonaro's former infrastructure minister and a top ally, shattered forecasts to win the first-round vote and force a runoff with Lula protege Fernando Haddad.
- Frenemies -
Adding to the bleak picture for Lula's camp, the lead judge and prosecutor who sent him to jail on controversial corruption charges -- since overturned -- both won seats in the Senate.
Ex-judge Sergio Moro and ex-prosecutor Delton Dallagnol are not exactly Bolsonaro allies -- especially Moro, who quit his post as the far-right president's justice minister in 2020, accusing Bolsonaro of interfering in police investigations.
But they are certainly no friends of Lula, whom their mega-graft-busting probe, "Operation Car Wash," sent to prison for 18 months.
G.Murray--MP
