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
Iran issues threat to Trump as conflict escalates over Strait of Hormuz
The head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, threatened U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, warning him to “beware of being eliminated.”
The Republican president had warned on Monday that he would strike Iran “very hard” if the Islamic Republic blocked oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which has effectively been closed since the war began eleven days ago.
“Iran is not afraid of your empty threats. Others more powerful than you tried to destroy the Iranian nation and failed. Beware that you are not eliminated,” Larijani wrote on X.
Earlier, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards — the ideological military force of the Islamic Republic — also said their forces would move to block oil exports from the Gulf.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s military offensive against Iran is far from over.
“Our aspiration is that the Iranian people free themselves from the yoke of tyranny; ultimately, that depends on them. But there is no doubt that with the measures taken so far we are breaking their bones, and we are not finished yet,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
International
Driver detained after suspicious vehicle incident near the White House
The driver was detained and no injuries were reported after an incident that occurred before dawn in Lafayette Square, just north of the White House.
The U.S. Secret Service, which is responsible for presidential security, said in a statement that it was “investigating a suspicious vehicle.” The driver of the car was taken into custody and is currently being questioned.
Washington remains under heightened security measures amid the ongoing conflict involving the United States and Israel against Iran.
Police closed several major streets around the White House. However, by about 8:30 a.m. local time (12:30 GMT), government employees and staff from nearby institutions were allowed to pass through the area with proper identification, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
Dozens of emergency vehicles with flashing lights responded to the location, while tourists and residents waited for authorities to reopen the streets.
International
Trump Raises Possibility of “Friendly Takeover” of Cuba Amid Deepening Crisis
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, reiterated Monday the possibility that Washington could pursue a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, amid the severe crisis facing the island following the oil blockade promoted by the U.S. government.
Speaking at a press conference in Miami, the president said that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently “negotiating” with representatives of the Cuban government, although authorities in Havana have repeatedly denied that such talks are taking place.
Trump suggested that Washington could play a more direct role in the island’s future.
“It may be a friendly takeover. It may not be a friendly takeover. It wouldn’t matter because they’re really down to, as they say, fumes. They have no energy, they have no money. They are in deep trouble on a humanitarian basis, and we really don’t want to see that,” the U.S. president said.
The president also argued that the Cuban government had long depended heavily on support from Venezuela, particularly oil supplies.
According to Trump, that support has been drastically reduced following measures adopted by Washington.
“They were living off Venezuela. Venezuela doesn’t send them energy, fuel, oil, money, or anything anymore. They couldn’t survive without Venezuela, they couldn’t have made it, and we cut everything off,” Trump said.
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