Politics

Rise of the far-right in Brazil spells the end of an era in São Paulo

For almost three decades, Brazil's wealthiest state has been governed by the center-right PSDB party. After losing ground to Bolsonaro's far-right, they have just lost control of São Paulo

Rodrigo Garcia's poor performance in 2022 ends a streak of five gubernatorial wins for the Brazilian Social Democracy Party in São Paulo, including multiple first-round landslides. Photo:
Rodrigo Garcia’s poor performance in 2022 ends a streak of seven gubernatorial wins for the Brazilian Social Democracy Party in São Paulo, including multiple first-round landslides. Photo: Ronny Santos/Folhapress

Rodrigo Garcia, the governor of Brazil’s wealthiest and most populous state São Paulo, declared his “unconditional support” this week for President Jair Bolsonaro’s re-election bid. His endorsement, days after he tasted defeat in his own re-election race, marks the end of an era.

For the last 28 years, São Paulo state has been ruled by governors from the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) or their lieutenants. On Sunday, Mr. Garcia from the PSDB finished third in the São Paulo gubernatorial election, keeping the party out of the runoff and closing a long chapter in the state’s history.

Members of the Brazilian press, especially those on the left, would mockingly refer to São Paulo as Tucanistão (Toucan-istan), alluding to the PSDB’s choice of the colorfully billed bird as its mascot and their seemingly unbreakable hegemony in the state.

The runoff in São Paulo on October 30 will be contested by Tarcísio de Freitas, a former Infrastructure Minister under Mr. Bolsonaro, and Fernando Haddad, a former São Paulo city mayor who ran for president in 2018 as Lula’s understudy, when the ex-president was barred from the election due to his criminal convictions. 

The race between the two is yet another example of the nationalization of Brazil’s local elections — and of the slow extinction of the “toucans.”

Toucans ruling the roost

In 1994, Senator Mário Covas, a former member of Brazil’s Constituent Assembly in the late 1980s, became the first of the PSDB’s governors...

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