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As Polls Close, Brazil's Once Promising ‘Alternative’ Candidate Shut Out of Run-Off
Posted 6 October 2014 5:17 GMT

As Polls Close, Brazil's Once Promising ‘Alternative’ Candidate Shut Out of Run-Off

Posted 6 October 2014 5:17 GMT

Woman votes at the electronic booth on Sunday, 5th of October. More than 100 million Brazilians took to the polls today. Image by Taisa Sganzerla.

The Brazilian presidential race, one whose outcome hasn’t been so uncertain since 1989, is coming to a close, and incumbent Dilma Rousseff from the Worker’s Party will dispute a runoff with Aécio Neves from the Brazilian Social-Democractic Party. Both had, respectively, 42 percent and 34 percent of the votes.

Marina Silva from the Brazilian Socialist Party, an unexpected name in the campaign who had ranked high in the polls for months, finished with 21 percent, which puts her officially out of the race. Brazilians will also be picking the governors of all 27 states, a third of 81 senators, as well as 513 seats of the lower house of Congress and state legislators.

A first-time presidential candidate and former governor of Brazil’s second most populous state, Minas Gerais, Aécio Neves earned votes from an expressive sector of Brazilian society unsatisfied with the Worker's Party government, who's been in power since 2003. Historically, the Social-Democractic Party has represented conservative sectors of Brazilian's middle and upper classes, as opposed to the Worker's Party, who had its genesis in the working class. However, recently, Rousseff's party has been heavily criticized by progressive sectors, who believe its ideals have been “compromised” by the several alliances it has made with conservative supporters in the last 11 years.

People line up to justify their absence from the ballots. Unlike most democracies, voting in Brazil is mandatory, so whoever is not able to vote has to justify. Image by Taisa Sganzerla.

Marina Silva presented herself as an “alternative” to the long-lasting rivalry between the two main parties and maintained second place in opinion polls since she unexpectedly emerged as the candidate of the Brazilian Socialist Party (after the sudden death of its former runner, Eduardo Campos, in a plane crash on August 13),even reaching 34 percent (against Rousseff's 35 percent) in a Datafolha poll on late August. A prominent environmentalist, Silva got her start in politics by working alongside union leader and activist Chico Mendes, fighting against the exploitation of the Amazon, and served as environmental minister from 2003 to 2008 in Rousseff’s Party.

Her drop in the votes has been attributed, among other factors, by not being able to navigate all the contradictions in her campaign. For instance, Silva’s vice presidential candidate, legislator Beto Albuquerque, has had historical connections with the agribusiness, having been involved in 2004 in the approval of a bill that allowed genetically modified soy to be planted in Brazil. This fact has disappointed many environmentalists and former supporters of Silva. Among them, the Syndicate of Rural Workers of Xapuri in Acre state, founded by Chico Mendes, who released a note on August 28 criticizing Marina’s environmental's proposals. An excerpt:

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The rural workers of Xapuri (Acre) do not agree with the current environmental policy in progress in Brazil, idealized by presidential candidate Marina Silva while she was minister of environment. This policy is hostage to a preservationist model and to international NGOs. It harms the maintenance of traditional culture of subsistence and forest management and favors big entrepreneurs who, due to the policies’ high degree of bureaucratization, are able to legally devastate the forest while its traditional inhabitants are left with no choice but to commit environmental crimes.

Also, after publishing on her official website a progressive agenda supporting marriage equality, which drew many LGBT rights advocates, Silva stepped back from this position following pressure from religious leaders. Silva is also an evangelist and a significant part of her electorate are connected to evangelical congregations. Silva’s new position on this issue made American actor Mark Ruffalo, a prominent activist on LGBT rights, withdraw his support for Silva, which has had gone viral just a few weeks prior. Marina has been also heavily attacked by leftist sectors, that saw her as a “conservative dressed up as a progressive”. As famous leftist blogger Cynara Menezespointed out, in early September:

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“As a leftist, it obviously worries me that we might experience a possible neoliberal spring in the government with her election, since she's assisted by a team of economists who follow that philosophy. I have, however, a stronger reason not to vote for her. Marina's project for Brazil is not the same as mine, but I won't vote for her mainly because I don't trust that she'll govern, being an evangelical from the Assemblies of God church, with the conception of a secular state”

Av. Paulista, Sao Paulo's main avenue, on a unusual, busy Sunday — typical of elections day. Image by Taisa Sganzerla.

Luciana Genro and Eduardo Jorge, from the Socialist and Freedom Party and the Green Party, respectively, were the only ones who have openly supported marriage equality and other progressive agendas (decriminalization of marijuana among them). Genro earned 1.47 percent of the votes and Jorge 0.62 percent. 

Still, legislator Jean Willys, the first openly gay member of the Congress and advocate of LGBT rights in Brazil, was elected for a second mandate in the lower house of Congress. An active user of social media, with almost 1 million followers on Facebook and Twitter combined, he thanked the 145,000 people who voted for him:

It worked, guys! Re-elected! A new era starts now. Thanks, friends, both real and virtual

But social media reacted angrily to the presidential results as well as the most voted legislators. In Rio, notorious homophobe Jair Bolsonaro was reelected as the most voted federal deputy. In Sao Paulo, Coronel Telhada, a hard-line former police chief with a violent history, was the second most voted state legislator. Famed independent journalist Bruno Torturra tweeted sarcastically:

Try to see the bright side of those results. And, if you do, please tell me which is it?

Also in Sao Paulo, the Social-Democractic Party candidate Geraldo Alckimin was reelected in the first round with almost 60 percent of the votes, despite the major water crisis the region has experienced (SABESP, the company responsible for the water supply in most of Sao Paulo, is managed by the state government). Journalist Mariele Góes posted on her Facebook page, in a clear reference to a famed hate-speech case following the results of the elections in 2010:

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I sincerely hope that every ‘paulista’ [someone from São Paulo] who's saying northeasterners don't know how to vote take a shower with their own tears when Cantareira reservoir runs out of water on the 27th <3

It's unclear wether Silva will support Rousseff or Neves in the runoff. In 2010, after also losing the race in the first round, she chose to remain neutral.

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Here’s why some Brazilians want their country to lose the World Cup

Past victories have been greeted with carnival-like celebrations from favela slums to exclusive beach resorts.

But as the June 12 inaugural game of Brazil vs. Croatia nears, thousands of protesters here are saying they are not only unhappy with the tournament but actually want Brazil’s team to lose miserably.

“I’d love to see the Brazil team lose every game and be thrown out in the first round,” says Marcelo Amorim, a university researcher who has been protesting against the tournament since last year.

“We already have five cups so what is one more? Right now there are more important things to worry about.”

Protester Wellington Magalhaes, a resident of a favela climbing up Rio’s hills, says he will be actively cheering for Brazil’s rivals.

“A victory for the Brazil team would be a victory for the government. It would be a slap in the face of the people,” Magalhaes said. “I’d like to see Brazil lose 10 to nothing. Just think of the repercussions of that.”

Such antagonistic sentiments turned into confrontational demonstrations on Thursday, as thousands blocked the roads of Brazil’s biggest city, Sao Paulo, burning tires and shouting slogans against the World Cup.

The angers against the tournament and team stem from a mix of grievances both over the World Cup and within Brazilian society generally.

Many are enraged by the government spending some $11 billion on the tournament, while its schools and hospitals are in desperate need of repair.

Others are angered by the corporate nature of the games.

Brazil’s biggest stadium, the Maracana in Rio, has been effectively privatized, rented for 35 years to a consortium including one of Brazil’s richest men.

Meanwhile, police forcibly evicted a group of indigenous squatters near the ground to make room for development.

Soccer’s world governing body FIFA has also come under fire for its aggressive marketing demands. Brazil agreed to create zones around stadiums where only FIFA and its partners can sell goods.

“Football is a passion and a love for people in the favelas. But how does this cup help the poor?” Magalhaes asked. “The Brazilian government uses football as an opium to keep people happy. Well, we are tired of that.”

Perhaps his social commentary is not surprising. Even though millions have climbed out of poverty in recent years during successive left-leaning governments, Brazil still ranks among the world's most unequal countries. Many here doubt that souped-up stadiums for global soccer tourneys and the 2016 Olympics are a huge priority.

However, those wishing doom on Brazil’s team may be disappointed.

Brazil's national soccer team.

As home nation and with a talented generation of players, Brazil is the betting favorite to take the cup, with average odds of 3 to 1 — ahead of Argentina, Germany and reigning champ Spain.

But coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has already complained that protests could put players off, “big time.”

“If [protests] are normal, without smashing things up, then that is democracy. But I don't know if it's the right time,” Scholari said last month.

It is difficult to predict how big — or how aggressive — the demonstrations will be.

During the confederations soccer tournament last year, hundreds of thousands marched against spending for the country’s mega sporting events. At times, peaceful rallies have devolved into chaotic riots and brutal crackdowns.

But while demonstrators are organizing against the World Cup games in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, there is little sign of marches in the other 10 host cities.

The protesters also received some bad press coverage when a cameraman filming a rally in February was killed by a firecracker.

Still, protesters understand that with the eyes of the world on Brazil, even small disturbances could make a lot of noise.

A Sao Paulo member of a radical movement known as the Black Bloc said they aim to push through police barriers in the zones around the stadiums.

“They are going to try to get into the exclusion zones by any way, and there are going to be clashes,” said the Black Bloc affiliate, who would only identify himself by the alias A.M. because of the risk of arrest. “There is a clear objective. If they get into the zone, they have won.”

More from GlobalPost: Come for the World Cup, swim with the feces

Outside of the protest movement, feelings toward the cup are more mixed.

In a favela in Sao Paulo, laborer Higo Carvalho said he was critical of the World Cup spending but would cheer on the Brazil team.

“Despite the bad things in Brazil, I am still a patriot,” Carvalho said.

General enthusiasm for Brazil’s squad appears to be more muted than in recent years — with fewer people wearing T-shirts or painting the roads with the team colors.

However, some believe that once the party gets started, soccer mania will return.

“People here love to party and they love to be hosts,” said Matias de Padua, owner of a sportswear shop in downtown Rio.

“Once the games start, and people arrive from all over the world, and there is great football being played, people are going to put aside their problems. It is going to be a carnival. And Brazil is going to win the World Cup.”

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