Explaining Brazil #128: Elections in the Time of Covid-19

In just over a month, Brazilians will go to the polls to choose their new mayors and city councilors. In previous episodes of the podcast, we have discussed the major sanitary implications these municipal elections may cause. Brazil has no system for mail-in ballots, which we see in the U.S., or vote-by-proxy, as they have in France, and the Brazilian voting system is, by design, a health hazard in coronavirus times. 

But this week, we want to tackle the political implications of the municipal races. For a foreign audience, mayoral races may seem too parochial, but they actually have a significant impact on national politics. And what happens in November 2020 will ripple over until 2022.

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On this episode:

• Filipe Campante is an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He is interested in political economy, development economics, and urban/regional issues. His research looks at what constrains politicians and policymakers beyond formal checks and balances: cultural norms, institutions, media, political protest.

Background reading:

• Listen to episode #113, in which we discuss how Covid-19 made Brazilian elections more exposed to fake news.
• Back in March, we explained the sanitary risks Brazil’s voting system entails.
• The Workers’ Party does not govern a single municipality among the 96 biggest cities, and will try to regain ground in big urban centers — but it will be an uphill battle.
• Débora Álvares explains what is at stake in the municipal races in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
• How liberalization paved the way for populists in Brazil.

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