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
White House says Cuba policy unchanged despite sanctioned fuel shipment
The White House said Monday that it has not changed its policy toward Cuba, despite allowing a sanctioned Russian oil tanker to deliver fuel to the island on humanitarian grounds.
U.S. officials emphasized that the decision was made as an exception and does not signal a broader shift in policy.
The administration added that similar decisions would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, depending on humanitarian considerations.
The clarification comes amid ongoing restrictions related to U.S. sanctions policy, which continue to limit trade and financial flows involving Cuba.
International
Spain to grant citizenship to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López
The Spanish government is expected to grant citizenship this Tuesday to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lópezthrough an extraordinary procedure known as “carta de naturaleza.”
The decision will be approved by royal decree, an exceptional legal mechanism used in special cases that require expedited resolution due to specific circumstances.
López has been living in Madrid since 2020, after leaving Venezuela following a prolonged political and legal conflict with the government of Nicolás Maduro.
According to government sources, López currently does not have a valid Venezuelan passport and faces difficulties in having his nationality fully recognized in his home country.
As a result, he applied for Spanish citizenship via a fast-track process at the end of 2025, after previously attempting to obtain it through regular procedures.
The Spanish government justified the move based on López’s international relevance and foreign policy considerations.
López is the leader of the Voluntad Popular party and co-founder of the World Liberty Congress, an initiative launched in 2022 alongside figures such as Garry Kasparov and Masih Alinejad.
International
ICE to remain at airports amid DHS shutdown, Homan says
The U.S. “border czar,” Tom Homan, said Sunday that agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will remain deployed at airports until operations return to “100% normal,” as the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues.
“We will maintain ICE presence until airports feel they are fully back to normal operations,” Homan said during an interview on Face the Nation on CBS.
Homan justified the deployment on security grounds, noting that the measure was ordered by President Donald Trumpamid widespread absenteeism among agents of the Transportation Security Administration, who have gone without pay for over six weeks due to the DHS shutdown.
According to acting TSA administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill, at least 460 TSA agents have resigned during the shutdown, while daily absenteeism has averaged 11%, exceeding 50% at some airports.
Homan warned that if TSA staffing levels do not recover after the shutdown, ICE agents will continue filling the gap. “ICE is there to support our TSA brothers and sisters. We will remain as long as needed to ensure airport security,” he said.
The DHS shutdown reached 44 days on Sunday, making it the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The impasse stems from disagreements between Democrats and Republicans over ICE funding.
A recent bipartisan Senate proposal to fund DHS without including ICE failed after being blocked by House Republicans, who insist on full funding for the agency.
Amid the deadlock, Trump signed an executive order directing Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to immediately pay TSA agents to address what he called an “emergency situation” and restore order at airports, with payments expected to begin Monday.
White House says Cuba policy unchanged despite sanctioned fuel shipment
Spain to grant citizenship to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López
ICE to remain at airports amid DHS shutdown, Homan says
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
International3 days agoOver 300 U.S. Troops Wounded Since Start of Iran Conflict, CENTCOM Says
-
International3 days ago
Oil prices surge again as Middle East tensions persist
-
International4 days agoIran rejects negotiations as tensions escalate with United States
-
International3 days agoYoung Spanish Woman Receives Euthanasia After Legal Battle, Sparking Debate
-
International4 days agoMaduro appears again in New York court amid drug trafficking charges
-
International6 hours agoWhite House says Cuba policy unchanged despite sanctioned fuel shipment
-
International1 day agoICE to remain at airports amid DHS shutdown, Homan says
-
International6 hours ago
Spain to grant citizenship to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López