BRAZIL TESTING GOVERNMENT

Brazilian municipal election

 

Brazil faces the first round of municipal elections in about 5,600 cities scattered throughout the territory, of which 26 state capitals.

After two year since the last presidential elections, which have seen reach the victory, for the first time in the history of the country, a woman (Dilma Rousseff), the Brazilian people return to the polls, this time to elect mayor, vice-mayor and vereadores (councillors). This will be a very important opportunity for the current government of PT (Partido dos Trabalhadores) of the much loved ex-president Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva to take the pulse of an electorate that is preparing for the 2014, which will be characterized not only by the expected soccer hosted its own on the territory of the Pentacampeão, but also by the next presidential elections.

According to the estimates of IBOPE (Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics) and Datafolha (Institute of statistical research), if in the period that preceded the election campaign had a national framework extremely favorable to the PT (over 60% of the voters would have chosen a candidate backed by Lula), currently the situation seems upside down unexpectedly. Among the 15 largest capital of the country, the PT’s candidates for mayor are losing ground and are located at the bottom of the index of national approval, resulting winner in the first round in only 1 of 26 Capitals. On 28 October, the PT competed in the second round, for the office of mayor, in six capitals. For the President of the PT of the State of São Paulo, Edinho Silva, this difficulty is due to the situation of tension that the party is addressing in after two events of political scandal, of which the first is tied to the members of the Lula’s government  (known as Mensalão, diagram for the sale of votes in Parliament) and the other more current, known as CPI do Cachoeira, which always sees involved some representatives of the PT.

The general situation is uncertain and the citizens feel increasingly undecided on who to vote, to choose in the hands of those people who put the future of their city for the next 4 years. In this climate of insecurity, the electoral campaign is always more hammering, to convince the greatest number of voters which side support. To do this, are used the most various and, sometimes, extravagant means of propaganda, from the walls of homes painted with written in a newspaper headline, to “Santini” distributed on the road with the photo of the candidate, cars covered with stickers, flags, walk along the streets of the city for visit to commercial businesses and homes to hunt for votes, rallies, musical motives launched in the ether to deafening volume for overlap those of rivals.

And, where the streets are rivers or streams of water, the cars are replaced by real “electoral boats”. In the era of internet and social networks, the electoral campaign has found a new ground of “battle”, i.e. , forums, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, are transformed into virtual billboards of political propaganda, where it is played and posted on the “bulletin boards” of users the same banners that are located along the streets of the city, giving rise to a real e-campaign. The polls are closed at 17. From this moment begins the wait. The population gathers waiting for the results.

After a few hours begin to leak the first official datas and the atmosphere begins to make electricity. In a short time the winners are spread from mouth to mouth and explodes the party. The tension of waiting gives way to happiness and everything turns into a sort of carnival, with trios eletricos leading in triumph the winners, spread loud music and people dancing animate the streets of the city.