By CHICO ALENCAR*
Poster stamped on the balcony of Boulos' house, at dusk this Sunday
The Brazil that comes out of the municipal polls, in a preliminary analysis of these unprecedented pandemic elections, is a country:
1 – with a population still strongly disenchanted with politics (in both rounds, record abstention and a very large percentage of nulls and blanks) and on the margins of political decisions, although the anti-politics (which elected Bolsonaro) lose strength;
2 – with a clear decline of the Bolsonarist extreme right, the great loser in virtually all major cities and capitals (the exceptions are Rio Branco and Vitória);
3 – with a preponderance of the partisan general jam, of the physiological “center”, with a social-liberal and conservative bias and privatist bureaucratic continuity in the administrations;
4 – with an eagerness for change – see the victory for Chambers of collective candidacies and identity cut. Emerging will combined, contradictorily, with the feeling of attachment to traditional politics, without “risks”;
5 – disappointed with what was sold, in 2018, as “new” – which was, in practice, the old policy in disguise;
6 – with a progressive, left-wing, non-hegemonic, even weakened, but still significant field (PSOL, PT, PC do B, PSB, PDT, Rede, PSTU, PCB, which ranges from capitalist reformers to idealist revolutionaries, with no popular base organized). Field (not yet consolidated) with emerging forces within it, such as PSOL.
The well-known right-wing manipulation, in the most heated disputes, appeared with the flood of fake news of Crivella's campaigns, in the purchase of tucana votes (with basic food baskets, in the city of São Paulo), in the sexist and slanderous attacks of the MDB in Porto Alegre, also practiced in Recife (!). There was heavy use of the machine by mayors candidates for re-election.
In this general picture, which needs a deeper examination, the party dispersion is enormous: the 26 capitals will have mayors from 11 different parties! The wonderful victory of Edmílson/Edílson (Belém) – in front of the left, with programmatic clarity – and the great vote of Boulos/Erundina (SP) and Manuela/Rosseto (P. Alegre) are of remarkable importance. Enlivening share of youth energized these campaigns!
Our opponents see their ferocious dogs chased away, but they keep them in their mansions, and compose with them in the Palaces of Brasilia. The right wing with “lace fists” (DEM, PSDB, MDB) has regained space and articulates itself for 2022. It has also proven to have the ability to “seduce” large portions of the population.
Our path is long, and calls for unity in the fight and construction of a common platform for the next disputes. Let's start now, recognizing where we have failed and the promising avenues that open up to popular mobilization.
*Chico Alencar, former federal deputy, is a councilor recently elected by Psol in Rio de Janeiro.