Inter-American Dialogue, 10/24/2012
Brazilians went to the polls Oct. 7 to choose mayors and other local officials in the first round of the country’s municipal elections. Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes, of the Democratic Movement Party, easily won re-election, while in São Paulo, José Serra of the Social Democratic Party and Fernando Haddad of the governing Workers’ Party now face a runoff on Oct. 28. Who were the big winners and big losers in the municipal elections? What effect will the municipal elections have on national politics in Brazil? What role has the ‘mensalão’ corruption trial and conviction of José Dirceu, the chief of staff to then-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, played in the country’s politics?
