09/07/2024 – 8:21
The September 7th rally on Paulista Avenue has become a headache for Ricardo Nunes’ (MDB) campaign, which fears that Pablo Marçal (PRTB) will end up profiting politically from the event. The mayor’s advisors are apprehensive about the possible mass presence of supporters of the former coach, who could turn the event organized by Jair Bolsonaro’s allies into an act of redress for Ricardo Nunes.
Marçal’s presence at the event is still uncertain. The influencer arrived in El Salvador on Thursday, the 5th, for a possible meeting with the country’s president, Nayib Bukele. He is also trying to schedule talks with former president Donald Trump, former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Argentine president Javier Milei. However, none of the meetings have been confirmed.
If Marçal participates in the event next Saturday, it will be the first meeting between three members of a “love triangle” that is taking shape in the election for Mayor of São Paulo. Nunes is competing for the right-wing electorate with Marçal and has the formal support of Governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) and Jair Bolsonaro (PL). The former president, however, has flirted with the former coach’s candidacy – a move that has caused discomfort in the campaign of the current mayor who is seeking reelection.
In the latest Datafolha poll, released this Thursday, the 5th, Marçal appears technically tied with Nunes and Guilherme Boulos (PSOL). The PSOL candidate appears slightly ahead, with 23% of voting intentions. The influencer and the PMDB candidate appear with 22% each. Among Bolsonaro voters, Marçal establishes himself in the lead, rising 4 percentage points – he was 44% two weeks ago, rising to 48% now. Nunes fluctuated 1 point: he went from 30% to 31% of the votes of those who tried to elect the former president.
The main fear of Nunes’ team is that Marçal’s supporters will attend the event in large numbers, wearing caps and t-shirts in support of the former coach, and that they will boo the mayor when his name is announced on the microphone.
As reported by Column of the StateNunes will adopt “vaccines” to go to the protest on Avenida Paulista without being associated with the radical right. The mayor must wear a yellow shirt and leave the place before inflammatory speeches, as he did in the last pro-Bolsonaro demonstration, in February of this year.
Marçal maintains suspense about his presence at the event
The pro-Bolsonaro rally, organized by pastor Silas Malafaia, will focus on the impeachment request for Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The backdrop for the meeting, however, will be the fight for freedom of expression and amnesty for those arrested in the January 8 attacks. At the time, Bolsonaro supporters destroyed the buildings of the Three Powers in Brasília, the federal capital.
Marçal’s interlocutors claim that his presence at the protest could be a “surprise”. So far, he has not confirmed whether he will attend the event. For his team, it would not be unexpected for the former coach to make this “last minute” decision due to his known “unpredictability”, although flight logistics also need to be considered since, as of Friday afternoon, Marçal was still in El Salvador.
Ricardo Nunes has already confirmed his presence at the event. In an interview with Eldorado Radio Last Monday, he stated that he will not ask for Moraes’ removal and classified the demonstration as “in defense of the democratic rule of law”. One of the councilmen involved in the MDB candidate’s campaign, Rubinho Nunes (União), decided to leave the mayor aside and support the candidacy of his opponent Marçal. The councilman should attend the demonstration on Paulista. Members of his team confirmed to State that the councilor’s inner circle intends to “go with a cap”, the one with the “M”, worn by the former coach, “and campaign” for the businessman there.
Other supporters of Pablo Marçal are likely to follow suit. On the social network X, formerly Twitter, and in Discord groups, supporters of the businessman are advocating for groups in favor of the former coach to participate in the protest on Paulista Avenue. “We need to be present on Paulista Avenue on September 7th to fight this dictatorship! Supporting our mayor (‘M’ emoji) and our Brazil. (Emojis of the country’s flag were used).”
According to people close to Marçal, attending the 7 de Setembro protest alongside Bolsonaro and Nunes could bring good revenue to his social media accounts, a platform that the former coach described in an interview with Roda Viva last Monday, the 2nd, as the “only thing” he knows how to do. However, participating in an event that calls for Moraes’ impeachment could bring unnecessary wear and tear to the candidate who, together with his party, the PRTB, has faced legal challenges. Recently, in an interview with the Uol website and the newspaper S.Paulo Newspaperthe former coach stated that entering into a war with the STF would “destroy” his candidacy.
During the TV Cultura debate, Marçal avoided defending the removal of the minister from the Court, limiting himself to commenting that there is an “imbalance within the Republic”. That same night, he also declared: “I am already having problems with the state governor, with the city mayor, with the president of the Republic. Am I going to have problems with the STF?” State found out that, internally, his campaign also understands that starting a legal fight could be a dangerous move for maintaining his candidacy.
The businessman has several lawsuits against him in the Regional Electoral Court of São Paulo (TRE-SP) that could revoke his candidacy registration. The lawsuits are based on improper use of the media, as well as lawsuits for abuse of economic power. In addition, Leonardo Avalanche, president of the PRTB, is accused of having relations with members of the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC). State showed that Avalanche’s allies in the party participated in a scheme to exchange luxury cars for cocaine for the criminal organization. Furthermore, in an audio revealed by the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, Avalanche appears to state that he has ties to the faction. The party president denies any ties to the criminal organization.
Pastor Silas Malafaia, who is coordinating the event, said that all candidates will be welcome and will be allowed to go on stage, but none will be allowed to speak. According to Malafaia, the sequence of speeches will be as follows: former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro (PL), federal deputies Bia Kicis (PL-DF), Gustavo Gayer (PL-GO), Julia Zanatta (PL-SC), Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP), Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG), senator Magno Malta (PL-ES), Malafaia himself and, to close, Jair Bolsonaro. The religious leader will be responsible for the “toughest” speech against Moraes, whom he calls a “dictator”.
In a video of the former president published on Eduardo’s profile, the former leader says that the demonstrations organized for September 7 are part of a “supra-partisan” movement. However, in the list of official speakers for the event, only members of a single party, the Liberal Party (PL), will have time available to speak at the microphone with the protesters.
On Thursday, the 5th, during a press conference, Bolsonaro stated that, after learning that Nunes would be attending the demonstration, he called Malafaia and said that all the other candidates could go if they wished. “Obviously, they won’t use the microphone, because it w
ould be a rally. That won’t be the case. If Pablo Marçal goes, he will be very well received, just like any other candidate,” he stated. He also stressed that he could not wish “good luck” to the former coach because he had an agreement to support the current mayor of São Paulo.
Malafaia also confirmed that around 50 people, including senators and deputies, should stand on top of the main electric trio, the ‘Demolidor’, which will be installed at the intersection between Avenida Paulista and Rua Peixoto Gomide. The location of the float is already a tradition among the pro-Bolsonaro movements that take place in the region.
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