Explaining Brazil #307: A new blueprint for far-right demagogues?

Author

Gustavo Ribeiro
September 11, 2024 • Reading Time: 3 minutes

Pablo Marçal is a Tony Robbins-like figure who presents himself as a self-made business success.

He tried to run for president in 2018, but didn’t make it to the ballot. In 2022, he ran for a House seat representing the state of São Paulo. He obtained almost a quarter-million votes — which would have made him the 11th best voted candidate if electoral courts hadn’t excluded him from the race due to issues with his party.

Mr. Marçal started the race as a wildcard. He defends many of the values espoused by Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters. More importantly, he deploys a social media strategy that seems to be a version of the Bolsonaro campaign on steroids. 

This has propelled him to a three-way tie with the two men who were favored to win the race for mayor of São Paulo: Ricardo Nunes, the incumbent mayor and official Bolsonaro candidate, and Guilherme Boulos, a left-wing congressman endorsed by President Lula.

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This episode used music from Uppbeat and Envato. License codes: Fairytales by Daniel Zambo, Aspire by Pryces (B6TUQLVYOWVKY02S), and Private Investigation by AMZA (V9ZG3LD).

In this episode:

  • Beatriz Rey is a political scientist and a columnist for The Brazilian Report.

Background reading:

  • Whether or not former life coach Pablo Marçal gets elected São Paulo mayor, he is already setting a blueprint for radical candidates in the future, Ms. Rey writes.

  • As Bolsonaro’s influence wanes, a new political figure vies for attention in Brazil’s conservative camp, challenging the status quo in São Paulo’s mayoral race, writes Isabela Cruz.

  • Life coach Pablo Marçal has scrambled the São Paulo mayoral race, rising in the polls to a tie for first place. But his social media-based strategies could make him ineligible.

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