Brazil's municipal election ended on Sunday, reinforcing the leadership of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government and its allies, while also cementing the opposition's power in Sao Paulo, the country's richest and most populous city.
The governing Party of Workers (PT) grew 36 percent in the number of municipalities under its control from 410 in 2005 to 558effective as of Jan. 1, 2009.
The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), one of the PT'smajor ally, extended its governance to 1,207 cities as of 2009 from 1,060 in 2004, 13.9 percent up.
The Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), another ally of Lula, increased 80.4 percent with its rules extending from 174 cities to314.
The election results showed that 20 of the 26 capital cities over the country will be administered by the allies: six for the PT, six for the PMDB, three for the PSB, two for the Brazilian Labor Party (PTB), and each for the Progressive Party (PP), the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB) and the Democratic Party of the Workers (PDT).
The rest six belong to the opposition: four for the Brazilian Social Democrat Party's (PSDB), one for the Democrat Party (DEM) and one for the Green Party (PV).
Eduardo Paes, from the PMDB, was elected as mayor of Rio de Janeiro in a neck-to-neck competition against the Green Party's Fernando Gabeira, who is supported by the opposition.
Other capitals acquired by the allies include Rio Grande do Sulstate's capital Porto Alegre, and Bahia state's capital Salvador, where the PMDB's Jose Fogaca and Joao Henrique Carneiro were re-elected mayors, respectively.
But in Sao Paulo, Marta Suplicy, seen as Lula's potential successor, was trounced by Gilberto Kassab of the DEM, incumbent mayor of the city, in a fatal 39 percent-to-61 percent defeat.
Such sporadic victory, however, failed to gloss over the inferior position of the opposition, as the numbers of PSDB-governed municipalities decreased by 9.4 percent from 870 to 788. The DEM registered an even sharper drop of 37 percent from 794 to 501.
According to Political Sciences Professor Joao Paulo Peixoto from the University of Brasilia (UnB),though the ruling party did not win that many capitals, the rise in the municipal government reaffirmed its syndicalist character.
But Peixoto also said the opposition's victory in Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest electoral college with 11 million people, may lead to an interesting situation in the country's political game, especially in the general election in 2010, where Lula can not be re-elected since he has already fulfilled two consecutive terms.
Another important factor that should also be taken into account for government composition in the future is that the PMDB from the current allies, which has control in more than 20 percent of the cities, usually does not present a presidential candidate.
Around 130 million Brazilians took part in the two-round municipal elections in October, voting for municipal governors and councilors.
Source:Xinhua
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