Brazil: important victories of the bolonarists in the legislative and governorships

Candidates allied to outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro won important victories on Sunday October 2 in the legislative and governorship elections organized in parallel with the presidential election in Brazil.

"

," writes analyst Miriam Leitao in her column for the daily

.

In addition to the President and Vice-President of the Republic, Brazilians were called upon to elect the governors of 27 states (including the Federal District of Brasilia), the 513 elected members of the Chamber of Deputies and a third of the 81 Senators, as well as state legislatures.

Read alsoBrazil: Bolsonaro surprises and follows Lula in the first round of the presidential election

According to analysts, the head of state's Liberal Party (PL) is on track to win the largest number of seats in the Chamber of Deputies.

In the Senate, PL candidates and allied groups won at least 14 of the 27 seats up for grabs.

Among the new members of Congress are two highly controversial former ministers of Bolsonaro: former environment minister Ricardo Salles, who left the government on suspicion of corruption, and Eduardo Pazuello, criticized for his handling of the portfolio of the Health at the height of the pandemic which killed nearly 700,000 people in Brazil.

The list of bolsonarists for the Senate includes former soccer player Romario (re-elected) and Marcos Ponte, a former astronaut and former science minister who ousted Lula ally Marcio Franca, the poll favorite.

Three other former ministers, the ultra-conservatives Damares Alves (Women), Tereza Cristina (Agriculture) and Rogerio Marino (Development), as well as the current vice-president, were also elected to the Senate, which must confirm two judges in 2023 of the Supreme Court.

Also entering the upper house are former judge and minister Sergio Moro, who broke with Bolsonaro, and former prosecutor Dalton Dellagnol.

Lula's two great rivals were key figures in the "

" trial, which focused on a huge system of corruption within the state-owned company Petrobras.

Lula served 19 months in prison, but the sentence was overturned for procedural flaws.

Read also“We are going to party”: very mobilized, the Brazilians in Paris support Lula and want to sanction Bolsonaro

Brazilians also elected the governors of 27 states (including the Federal District of Brasilia).

PL candidate Claudio Castro was elected governor in Rio de Janeiro.

But the biggest surprise came from São Paulo, Brazil's most populous and wealthiest state, with the first-round victory of former infrastructure minister Tarcisio Freitas, who was second in the polls.

Freitas (PL) came out on top, ahead of Fernando Haddad, heir apparent to Lula and former mayor of the megalopolis of São Paulo, beaten by Bolsonaro in the 2018 presidential election. The two men will compete for the post of governor on October 30 during of a second ballot.

The elections also saw the victory of Brazil's first transgender federal deputies, Erika Hilton, Duda Salabert and Robeyoncé Lima.