International
Lula enters the municipal campaign at the last minute in the face of a divided bolsonarism in São Paulo
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva entered at the last minute in the campaign for this Sunday’s municipal elections in support of his candidate in São Paulo, a key city and in which the far-right of former president Jair Bolsonaro is completely divided.
Lula, who had been almost absent from the campaign for the municipal elections, participated this Saturday in an act in favor of Guilherme Boulos, candidate for mayor of São Paulo, who with 9.3 million voters constitutes the largest electoral college in the country.
Both walked along the central Paulista Avenue, in an act without speakers due to the electoral ban and accompanied by several thousand followers of Lula, the great reference of Brazilian progressivism.
Boulos is a deputy of the Socialism and Freedom Party (PSOL) and is in coalition with the Workers’ Party (PT), of Lula, which has lost municipal weight and in these elections only has its own candidates for mayor in 1,379 of the 5,569 municipalities.
The Liberal Party (PL), which is led by Bolsonaro and had almost no national presence until 2018, when the far right broke out, has nominated 1,477 candidates for mayor, but in São Paulo it has been divided after the appearance of Pablo Marçal, a newcomer to politics even more extreme than the former president himself.
Provocation as the norm of the dissident ultra-right
During the campaign, Marçal has insulted his opponents in every way, provoked to the power and spread lies in bulk, which have earned him sanctions from the electoral authorities and that one of his adversaries lost patience and attacked him with a chair in a debate broadcast on television.
However, with a style that borders on the patanería, it has slipped among the favorites and the polls attribute about 20% support, as well as to Boulos and the current São Paulo mayor and candidate for re-election, Ricardo Nunes, supported by Bolsonaro, who like Lula has remained distant from the campaign in São Paulo.
Marçal caused his last scandal this Friday, when he disclosed an alleged medical document according to which Boulos was a cocaine user, which was immediately denied by the socialist, who intends to bring the matter to criminal justice.
According to the polls, the election in São Paulo will go to a second round on October 27, as will happen in the 103 cities with more than 200,000 voters, if no candidate exceeds 50% of the votes.
Put in this way, it is not ruled out that that instance will be disputed in the strategic São Paulo by two references of the far right, which could put Bolsonaro himself in a brete.
Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, the other jewels of the crown
The trilogy of municipal power, which can be important in the 2026 presidential elections for its influence from the local, is completed by Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte.
In Rio de Janeiro, the second polling station in the country, with five million voters, everything favors the centrist Eduardo Paes, who aspires to re-election supported by Lula and has a voting intention ranging from 50 to 55%.
In Rio, Bolsonaro supports Alexandre Ramagem, of the PL, whom he accompanied this Saturday in an event in the populous northern area of the city and does not exceed 20% in the polls.
They are the centrist Fuad Noman, who aspires to re-election, his adversary in that same field Mauro Tramonte, and the bolsonarista Bruno Engler. Lula’s PT presents Deputy Rogério Correia, whose intention to vote does not reach 10%.
In the rest of the country, the panorama distances itself from the polarized dispute between Bolsonaro and progressism that prevails at the national level and favors center parties, which are the true faithful of the political balance and tend to lean, depending on the situation of the moment, towards one or the other extreme.
International
Report: Vatican mediation included russian asylum offer ahead of Maduro’s capture
The Vatican reportedly attempted to negotiate an offer of asylum in Russia for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro before his capture by U.S. forces last Saturday, according to The Washington Post.
The U.S. newspaper reported that Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin spoke with U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch about a supposed Russian proposal to grant Maduro asylum. A source familiar with the offer said that what was proposed “was that he would leave and be able to enjoy his money,” and that part of the plan involved Russian President Vladimir Putin guaranteeing Maduro’s security.
Despite these diplomatic efforts, the United States carried out a military operation that resulted in Maduro’s capture and detention, along with his wife Cilia Flores, who are now being held in New York on narcoterrorism charges.
The Washington Post also noted that U.S. President Donald Trump may have invited Maduro to Washington for in-person discussions about safe conduct, an offer that Maduro reportedly declined.
International
Pope Leo XIV warns of rising “war enthusiasm” in global politics
“War is becoming fashionable again, and war enthusiasm is spreading.” Pope Leo XIV delivered a somber assessment of international politics on Friday, sharply criticizing the growing reliance on force by nations at a time when his country of birth is increasing military displays.
While offering New Year’s greetings to the diplomatic corps, the U.S.-born pope — who also holds Peruvian nationality — delivered one of his strongest speeches to date, denouncing the “worrying weakening of multilateralism” and the emergence of what he described as “war enthusiasm.”
From the outset of his address to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, delivered in English, the pontiff lamented the rise of a “diplomacy of force, by individuals or groups of allied states,” at the expense of dialogue, warning that such trends threaten the global order established after World War II.
“Peace is no longer sought as a gift or as a good desirable in itself, or as the pursuit of ‘the establishment of an order willed by God, one that entails greater justice among human beings.’ Instead, it is pursued through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominance,” the head of the Catholic Church said, without directly naming any country.
His remarks come amid ongoing conflicts between Ukraine and Russia and in the Gaza Strip, and against a broader international backdrop marked by European concerns over a potential U.S. takeover of Greenland, the autonomous Danish territory, a scenario that could threaten the cohesion of NATO.
International
One Dead and Nine Injured After Explosion in Southwest Madrid
The incident occurred at around 4:10 p.m. local time in the Carabanchel neighborhood, in the southwest of the Spanish capital, according to a spokesperson for emergency services.
One person, whose identity was not disclosed, was killed, and nine others sustained minor injuries, the spokesperson said.
When asked about the possible cause of the explosion, emergency services did not provide any details.
Images shared by authorities on their official X account show a partial collapse of the building’s façade.
In October 2025, the collapse of a building under renovation in central Madrid left four people dead.
Report: Vatican mediation included russian asylum offer ahead of Maduro’s capture
Pope Leo XIV warns of rising “war enthusiasm” in global politics
One Dead and Nine Injured After Explosion in Southwest Madrid
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