Brazilian voters punished the leftist Workers’ Party that ran the country for the past 13 years in nationwide local elections on Sunday, giving a boost to non-establishment candidates and small parties in a sign of widespread disgust with their established leaders.
The Workers’ Party, or PT, which until recently was a leading force for Latin America’s left, won 263 mayorships in Brazil, less than half the city halls it won in 2012, according to newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.
Punished, you say?
Nationwide, the PT received just 6.8 million of the 118.8 million ballots cast on Sunday, according to local paper Folha de S. Paulo, a fifth-place showing that signals a tough road for the party to regain the presidency in 2018.
Punished indeed.
Who came out on top? Doria in Sao Paulo,
The winner in São Paulo was João Doria, from the center-right Brazilian Social-Democracy Party, or PSDB, a historic rival to the PT. Mr. Doria got 53.29% of the vote, an unprecedented result that eliminates the need of a second round.
Many Brazilian local governments were put under fiscal stress when state and federal cash transfers to cities began to decline during the previous term (2012-2016). The new mayors will additionally face funding a greater share of hospitals and police forces.
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