By LUIS FELIPE MIGUEL*
Even after Brazilian politics turned into the horror show it is today, with Jair Bolsonaro and his, opponents seem unprepared for a Pablo Marçal
Pablo Marçal is the perfect pick. He tried to start his life as a common thief — he was even convicted of qualified theft, for his involvement in a bank fraud gang. Then, better evaluating how he could invest his talents, he evolved into a messianic coach, that is, into charlatanism on an industrial scale.
In other times, perhaps he would have become a prophet, a founder of religion. Today, he uses social media to deceive fools and make a fortune.
If we lived in a less messed up country, he would certainly be in prison by now. His fraud does not only affect the pockets of his victims; he also puts the lives and physical integrity of his followers at risk.
Who doesn't remember the group of 32 poor people who needed to be rescued by the Fire Department, after the coach encouraged them to climb a mountain under adverse weather conditions?
Or the employee who died of a heart attack after his boss Marçal made him participate in a “surprise marathon”?
The portrait is already very clear: he is an amoral, self-centered scoundrel, capable of anything as long as he sees some benefit for himself. A man, as you can see, cut out to belong to Brazil's political elite.
Pablo Marçal, who is smart, realized this. In 2022, he attempted a presidential candidacy, but it was just an act. He used his visibility to sell support for Jair Bolsonaro, a figure with whom he has obvious close ties.
Now, he is running for mayor of São Paulo in earnest. He doesn't know the city, he has no idea how to manage a metropolis, he has no managerial or political experience, he has no proposal for any area.
It doesn't matter. He found a party, run by people suspected of involvement with organized crime, to support his candidacy. He piles up unreasonable ideas, ridiculed by experts or even by anyone with a minimum of common sense, such as building a building 1 km high, and states them as if they replaced a government plan.
But the focus of his campaign is to fire insults, unfounded accusations and all kinds of insults against his opponents. The mystifier’s “extravagant” personality is almost irresistible for a media that has no sense of responsibility towards society. Pablo Marçal receives a huge space in the news; imbecile proposals and nasty insults make headlines; he is invited to participate in the debates, although he does not qualify to do so (given the irrelevance of his party), under the argument of “journalistic interest” — in fact, of cheap sensationalism, of which he is a master.
Even after Brazilian politics turned into the horror show it is today, with Jair Bolsonaro and his people, opponents seem unprepared for Pablo Marçal. His absolute lack of interest in anything serious, his Olympian disregard for truth and decency, all of this proves disconcerting.
The coach knows how to draw his opponents into the dispute on the terrain that is favorable to him: aggression, aggression. Guilherme Boulos risked a confrontation and lost.
As popular wisdom says: whoever fights with a pig becomes as muddy as the pig. The difference is that the pig likes it.
José Luiz Datena, almost as unprepared as Pablo Marçal to occupy the mayor's office, saw that his talents as a television presenter paled in the face of the resourcefulness of his new opponent. Ricardo Nunes, a persistent liar, also realized that he is no match for the coach.
The three — Boulos, Datena and Nunes — are choosing not to attend debates. Risky strategy, which leaves Pablo Marçal loose. In fact, he adopted the tactic of not answering questions and simply taking the time to say whatever he wants.
Then, cut out what you want and post it on your networks. There are more than 12 million followers on Instagram alone.
In fact, it would be necessary to think of ways to regulate this, at the risk of being subjected to a government of influencers. Why not suspend the profiles of all candidates during the campaign and concentrate their content in a single space, administered by the electoral justice system — a kind of HGPE of the internet? Naive? Unrealizable? Innocuous? It's likely so. But alternatives have to be thought of and tested.
The one who does best is Tabata Amaral. The young deputy from the Lemman Foundation appears more balanced in the face of the coach's intemperance; Her technocratic style is the perfect counterpoint and she comes closer to what she has always sought, to be the image of preparation and consideration among candidates.
Another negative effect of Pablo Marçal's presence in the campaign must be noted. As absurd and pathetic as his style is, he appeals to an important segment of the electorate that is increasingly led to see aggressiveness as firmness, incompetence as authenticity and lack of composure as indignation against the system.
All things considered, Marçal is already the winner: (i) He became the center of the electoral campaign, receiving maximum attention, which is something he always pursues; (ii) if he does not reach the second round, he will have enough votes to sell his support at a high price; (iii) if he arrives, he will have to be “respected” as a politician and taken “seriously” by the other parties.
(iv) If you win the elections, you will have gigantic opportunities in the city hall for “good business” — and if the city of São Paulo falls apart, as it will certainly happen, it will be the fault of its residents; (v) elected or with good electoral performance, he could stand again in 2026, competing for the leadership of the extreme right (Jair Bolsonaro has already felt the blow) or, once again, selling his support dearly.
(vi) Whatever the result, you are taking advantage of the campaign's visibility to expand your follower base, and potential customers for your picks; (vii) last but not least, becoming a “political leader” helps shield you from accusations and lawsuits for your embezzlement practices.
Pablo Marçal's success is a symptom of the serious problems in Brazilian politics. It is necessary to face both the symptom and the causes — and facing the causes necessarily involves political education and raising the terms of the debate.
* Luis Felipe Miguel He is a professor at the Institute of Political Science at UnB. Author, among other books, of Democracy in the capitalist periphery: impasses in Brazil (authentic). [https://amzn.to/45NRwS2]
Originally posted on the author's social media.
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