The 2020 São Paulo municipal election took place in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, with the first round taking place on 15 November 2020 and the second round taking place on 29 November 2020. Voters voted to elect the Mayor, the Vice Mayor and 55 city councillors for the administration of the city. The result was a 2nd round victory for incumbent Mayor Bruno Covas of the Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB), winning 3,169,121 votes and a share of 59,38% of the popular vote, defeating political activist Guilherme Boulos of the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL), who took 2,168,109 votes and a share of 40.62% of the popular vote.
Background.
In the 2016 São Paulo mayoral election, João Doria of the Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB) was elected Mayor of São Paulo in first round with a share of 53,29% of the popular vote, defeating then incumbent Mayor Fernando Haddad, of the Workers' Party (PT). Later, Doria resigned to run for governor of the State of São Paulo in the 2018 São Paulo gubernatorial election against then incumbent governor Márcio França, leaving his Vice Mayor Bruno Covas to assume as Mayor of São Paulo. While facing cancer since October 2019, Covas was nevertheless confirmed as candidate for the Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB) for reelection.
Other candidates.
A traditional runner in the mayoral elections and federal deputy for the State of São Paulo, Celso Russomanno of the Republicanos, was endorsed by incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro as a more aligned candidate to his government, in opposition to Covas' coalition and somewhat opposition to the government, particularly in his handling of the Coronavirus Pandemic.
The election would see the rise of well known and famous political and social activist Guilherme Boulos, who had previously disputed the 2018 Brazilian general election as a presidential candidate and who now had been elected in the primaries of the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL) to run as their candidate for the city of São Paulo. Slowly, he would rise to become the dominant left-wing opponent to Covas' more ideologically broad coalition of voters and Russomano's base of Bolsonaro's supporters. He would later become the front-runner in the second round alongside Covas.
Similarly to Boulos' profile, the election would also see the rise of political YouTuber and influencer Arthur do Val, known by his pseudonym "Mamãefalei" and YouTube channel of the same name, who had previously been elected in the 2018 São Paulo gubernatorial election as state deputy. He ran on a platform of right-wing liberal economic policies to revitalize and embellish São Paulo's town center and proposals to dealing with the "Cracolândia" area of São Paulo, known for its high incidence of drug trafficking and drug use. He was endorsed to run for the Patriota in a broad opposition to both Boulos' left-wing, Covas' coalition and Russomanos' base of Bolsonaro supporters.
Former governor of the State of São Paulo Márcio França, who had lost reelection in the 2018 São Paulo gubernatorial election to João Doria, was endorsed to run as the candidate for the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB). He ran on a moderate and traditional social democratic platform. Among his proposals he defended free bus tickets during Sundays and holidays, as well as a reduction of the working time to 6 hours a day, and 3 working days during the week.
The Worker's Party (PT), struggling to maintain leadership ever since the impeachment of former president Dilma Rousseff, decided to seek out for a new figure and endorsed Jilmar Tatto as their candidate. He also ran as a traditional social democrat. Among his proposals were an increase to property tax for the rich, and creation of a communication channel for the city's government, which would serve as its official broadcasting service on news agencies, TV and public newsletters.
Among other lesser known candidates were Joice Hasselmann (PSL), Andrea Matarazzo (PSD), Marina Helou (REDE), Levy Fidelix (PRTB), Orlando Silva (PCdoB), Antonio Carlos (PCO) and Vera Lúcia (PSTU).
Extinction of Sabarás' candidacy.
Filipe Sabará was nominated candidate for the New Party (NOVO), but later he would be expelled from the party due to alleged inconsistencies in his curriculum, violating the party's code of ethics. Ultimately, the Regional Electoral Tribunal of São Paulo, at the party's request, ruled to extinguish his candidacy and the end of his campaign after his vice candidate Maria Helena declined to continue running.
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic, the city recorded the highest abstention rate ever, with around 29.29% of voters abstaining from voting in the first round, and around 30,78% of voters abstaining from voting in the second round, also resulting in one of the lowest turnouts seen for the municipal elections of São Paulo.
Outgoing Municipal Chamber.
The result of the last municipal election and the current situation in the Municipal Chamber is given below:
References.
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