Today, what you need to know about the election season. The devastation of the Pantanal wetlands. And why you shouldn’t expect reforms in 2020.
Election countdown: 60 days
In exactly two months, Brazilians in 5,568 municipalities will elect new mayors and city councilors. Last week, we explained the country’s plan to hold safe elections during a pandemic. Now, we explain what will be at stake on November 15.
Why it matters. While the themes of municipal elections are local, these races have become increasingly important for national politics, and will set the stage for the 2022 general elections.
- It doesn’t mean the 2020 election will be a prediction of what will happen in 2022. In politics (especially in Brazilian politics), two years has proven to be a long time.
How the election board is set. The Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) has the strongest foothold in major centers, with controlling 30 of Brazil’s 96 biggest cities. The party rose in the local elections thanks to a growing anti-leftist sentiment among voters in 2016 — until Jair Bolsonaro emerged, the PSDB was the major conservative force in Brazil.
- On the left, meanwhile, the Workers’ Party does not govern a single municipality...