Imagine that in France, we vote on the same day to elect the head of state, but also the deputies, and even the presidents of the region. A kind of “all in one” vote: presidential, legislative, regional, etc. This is what happened on Sunday October 30, in Brazil. In the shadow of the spectacular and hung duel between Lula and Bolsonaro, voters were also called upon to renew the Chamber of Deputies, part of the Senate, as well as the governors of each of the 27 states that make up Brazil, The State of Sao Paulo, Rio State, etc. In short, Brazilian voters did not make the trip for nothing.
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This election of governors in Brazil is almost as important as that of the president. This is the limit of the comparison with France because in Brazil, a governor has much more power than a president of a regional council here. Brazil is a federal country, like the United States. In other words, highly decentralized. The governors have quite extensive powers: they have their say in matters of education, justice, the fight against poverty, in terms of health, too. So much so that the governors played the role of counter-power during the health crisis. At a time when President Jaïr Bolsonaro was reluctant to confine and order vaccines – he doubted their necessity – several states, such as that of Sao Paulo, organized themselves and ordered and imported their own vaccines. The Head of State could do nothing. It is the Constitution.
Lula will have to reckon with the governors, or rather without them, for certain governors. Because Sunday, October 30, relatives of Jair Bolsonaro were appointed to head several key states. In particular the richest state in Brazil: that of Sao Paulo, who represents alone a third of the wealth produced each year in the whole country, with a gross domestic product higher than that of Argentina or Belgium.
After yesterday’s vote, the Bolsonarists will even be in the majority among the governors: 14 states out of 27. As many possibilities to play the obstruction against the new power. In short, Sunday evening, Bolsonaro did not lose everything and Lula’s upcoming mandate is not won.