Mayors of capitals in the Legal Amazon are mostly linked to the right-wing
23 de January de 2025
By Jadson Lima – From Cenarium
MANAUS (AM) – Five of the nine mayors of the capitals in the Legal Amazon who took office on January 1, 2025, were re-elected in the last municipal elections, which took place in October 2024. CENARIUM conducted a survey on Friday, the 3rd, regarding the profile of the new leaders of the cities, where more than 7 million inhabitants live, and seven of them are linked to the right-wing.
Among the re-elected candidates, three formed alliances with parties considered to be on the right-wing, one ran for the Partido Liberal (Liberal Party (PL)), and the fifth had centrist parties in the coalition. Among the candidates who ran for office for the first time, three sought right-wing parties to form their candidacies, and one did not form alliances and ran for a centrist party.
CENARIUM consulted experts to analyze what led the region to vote for politicians inclined to the right-wing. Lawyer and political scientist Helso Ribeiro attributed the growth of right-wing candidacies to the rise of the far right in the country. Political scientist Davidson Cavalcante pointed out that the election of figures from this ideological field could impact environmental actions.
For the survey on the profile of the nine mayors of the capitals of the states in the Legal Amazon, CENARIUM considered data released by the Nexus Consultancy in October 2024. According to the consultancy, left-wing parties include PCdoB, PDT, PSB, PT, PV, and Rede. Centrist parties include Agir, Avante, MDB, Mobiliza, PMB, Podemos, PP, PSD, and Solidariedade. Right-wing parties are PL, Democracia Cristã (Christian Democracy), Novo, PR, PRTB, PSDB, Republicanos and União Brasil.
One of the re-elected candidates running for a right-wing party is the mayor of Rio Branco (AC), Tião Bocalom (PL). In addition to the PL, the winning coalition at the polls had the support of the parties União Brasil, Progressistas, Podemos, and the PSDB-Cidadania Federation. In an interview with CNN Brasil after his re-election, the mayor of the capital of Acre praised former president Jair Bolsonaro, one of the main figures on the right-wing in the country.
“My identification with Jair Bolsonaro was immediate because he had a posture as president of the Republic very similar to what I have always dreamed of, always had […] The other issue is the defense of the flag of patriotism. I will not give that up”, said the mayor of the capital of Acre.
Davi Almeida (Avante), the re-elected mayor of Manaus, was also one of the candidates who allied with right-wing parties to run for a new term, despite having Lula-supporting senators Eduardo Braga (MDB) and Omar Aziz (PSD) on his platform. During the electoral campaign, the politician maintained a religious and conservative discourse.
“When God looks at a man and when a man sees in another man, a pastor, God sees in him a king. When people saw me as an electoral agent [in 1996], God had already seen me as mayor”, said Almeida during the convention that officially nominated him for re-election.
In addition to Almeida, the re-elected mayors in Boa Vista (RR) and Macapá (AP), Arthur Henrique and Dr. Furlan, respectively, both from the MDB, also had right-wing parties involved in their candidacies. In the capital of Boa Vista, the vice-mayor candidate, Lieutenant Colonel Marcelo Zeitoune, was nominated by the PL. Furlan’s candidacy included the PRD party in its coalition.
The only re-elected candidate who did not form an alliance with right-wing parties was Eduardo Braide (Podemos). The mayor of São Luís, the capital of Maranhão, received support from the Republicanos and the MDB, in addition to his party, the PSD. All these parties are considered centrist according to the Nexus survey.
Alliances of the Elected
Three of the four candidates who ran for office for the first time also allied with or ran under right-wing parties in the 2024 municipal elections. In Cuiabá, the capital of Mato Grosso, the Bolsonaro-supporting candidate, Abilio Brunini (PL), was elected with direct support from the Bolsonaro family and prominent figures from the Brazilian right, such as federal deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG). After the election, he preached unity.
“Cuiabá is one. The problems of Cuiabá affect all of us. The city’s potholes do not choose sides; they affect both the left-wing and the right-wing. The suffering we experience in the UPAs has no ideological side. There are shortages of medicine and services for both the right-wing and the left-wing. We will have to join forces with everyone, with the support of voters from both sides,” he said in a speech.
The candidate from the Barbalho clan in Belém, Igor Normando (MDB), was another politician who received support from parties such as União Brasil, PRD, and Cidadania, which is in federation with PSDB. Despite the alliance with right-wing parties, Normando did not have the support of the Bolsonaro clan and had to face the candidate from the former president’s political group, who campaigned for federal deputy Éder Mauro (PL).
A similar case occurred in Palmas. The then-candidate Eduardo Siqueira (Podemos) gathered parties considered right-wing around him but faced a candidate from Jair Bolsonaro’s party, PL. Despite the support, the candidate, who had previously governed the capital of Tocantins from 1993 to 1997, won the runoff election.
In the capital of Rondônia, Porto Velho, candidate Leo Moraes (Podemos) did not gather other parties around his candidacy and ran solely under Podemos, a party considered centrist according to Nexus consultancy. His opponent, candidate Mariana Carvalho (União Brasil), had the support of 12 parties.
Growth of the Extreme Right-Wing
To CENARIUM, lawyer and political scientist Helso Ribeiro stated that the boost in right-wing candidacies is linked to the growth of the extreme right-wing in the country. The expert explained that actions developed at the municipal level are governmental, not ideological. However, he believes that politicians needed to adjust their positioning to secure votes from constituents who began to identify with figures from this ideological field, such as former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
“Building a daycare, filling a pothole, planting trees on the streets, taking care of public pavement and sidewalks. This is neither left nor right. This is government action. Now, I observe that there has been a growth of the extreme right-wing in Brazil, and with that, the term ‘right-wing’ has generated a kind of inflationary use. So, everyone is now right-wing to look good in the picture”, he said.
The political scientist emphasized that the ideological profile of leaders does not influence decision-making if they have a social vision. “If a person in the Executive has a social vision, they will take actions that affect vulnerable people. They do not need to be left-wing or right-wing for that. A daycare is not a left or right thing, filling a hole in the street is not a left or right thing”, he stressed.
The expert also stated that conservatism today is the result of propaganda from a movement that does not always reflect the facts and the behavior of those who promote it. “Now, the fact that this conservative discourse exists does not mean that left-wing people are not conservative, nor that right-wing people are always conservative”, he said.
Reelection of Mayors
For Helso, the reelection of most mayors in the capitals of the Legal Amazon may be conditioned by the actions taken by the leaders during their first term. The expert emphasized that the achievements made in the last two years of the first administration favor those in power, unlike a candidate who has no administrative record.
“Those who hold power in the Executive have projects to show because of the administrative machine. And this has made reelection easier to some extent. Then, the voter wants to see the completion of the project and applauds the action, which is usually delivered in the final two years of the term to leave a mark on the population’s mind”, he concluded.
Conservatism
Political scientist and sociologist Davidson Cavalcante stated to CENARIUM that the conservative inclination among mayors in the capitals of the Legal Amazon reflects the social and cultural context along with the demands of the local electorate. According to the expert, religiosity, the search for stability, and the rejection of the “system” are factors that explain the election of these figures.
“The influence of evangelical and Catholic groups strengthens candidates who defend moral and traditional agendas, such as valuing the family and opposing progressive agendas. [On the other hand], in a scenario of economic and social crises, the conservative discourse, often associated with order and security, attracts voters who seek immediate answers. [And finally], the narrative against corruption and political privileges is well-received, even when there is no proof that conservative candidates can fulfill these promises”, he said.
Cavalcante also mentioned that the proximity of leaders to right-wing discourse indicates that conservative agendas may gain prominence in the managers’ agendas. “The closeness to figures like former president Jair Bolsonaro suggests that conservative agendas, such as public security, defending traditional values, and reducing state intervention in the economy, may gain prominence in the agendas of these managers”, he stressed.
Environmental Impacts
Cavalcante also pointed out that mayors who adopt discourses favoring the relaxation of environmental regulations may attract sectors such as agribusiness and mining but also become targets of criticism from environmental movements. For him, the current political scenario could be marked by tensions between economic interests and environmental demands.
“The North region, in particular, has a strong connection with environmental issues. Mayors aligned with discourses of relaxing environmental regulations may face criticism from social and environmental movements, but they may also attract sectors such as agribusiness and mining”, he concluded.