Sunday’s election

He ran his campaign on a platform of “It can’t get any worse” and is now facing allegations of illiteracy, but he received more votes than any other person running for the 500-strong lower house of the country’s legislature.

Tiririca, or Francisco Everardo Oliveira Silva, left little doubt that his candidacy was about anything more than a sarcastic protest of the current political order. In one TV spot, he says: “What does a federal deputy do? In reality, I don’t know. But vote for me, and I’ll tell you.” All this while dancing around in colourful costume and wig. In another, he promises to use office to help the most needy, including his own family.

Bemusement turned to shock Sunday night when he trounced all legitimate political competition for the quite important Federal Chamber of Deputies. Like the US, Brazil has a bicameral legislature, with the Senate composed of two representatives from each state and the lower house allotted representation based on population. Tiririca’s state of São Paulo, the country’s biggest, elected 70 deputies. Behind Tiririca, the second-place finisher was not even close, coming in with less than half the votes of the entertainer.

But does this matter? Does this say something about Brazilian democracy? Or is it just Brazilians having a bit of fun with one seat in a large house? Before the election, some – usually those who expected it would not go their way – cited the clown as an example of problems with the vote in general.

David Fleischer, a political analyst at the University of Brasília, told Bloomberg that the “protest vote” could be the result of dissatisfaction with politics in general, especially in light of recent corruption scandals.  “Many people have said they’ll vote for him because one clown more or less in congress won’t make any difference,” Fleischer said.

Outside one polling station Sunday morning, João Sandoval, a street vendor in São Paulo, told beyondbrics he supported president Lula but hoped Tiririca would win. “Man, we are going to make all those politicians look so stupid,” he said, visibly excited. “They are all a bunch of clowns.”

The president of the country’s electoral authority, Ricardo Lewandowski, said on Sunday the Tiririca phenomenon reflected a phase in the development of Brazilian democracy which could be safely ignored.

Of course, novelty votes are not without precedent in global politics. In 2003, in California, Arnold Schwarzenegger became governor in a contest in which Larry Flynt and Gary Coleman both placed in the top 10. Actors and comedians often become politicians, especially if they can connect with audiences. But Tiririca makes no pretense to having become a politician.

His campaign benefitted from heavy media coverage, and his well produced and often very funny videos went viral online. They mixed a brutal cynicism with light-hearted satire of political advertising. One common slogan was: “Tired of being cheated? Vote Tiririca.” In another, he said his attractiveness merited consideration.  At one point he delivered a short speech: “If you vote for me, I will be in Brasília, I will be, in reality, doing, the things, of the life of our Brazil, our life, our moment, our . . . something . . . that we have . . . Tirica for Federal Deputy!”

When he voted Sunday, he insisted he could read and write. He may have to prove that soon to federal authorities in some kind of live test. If he passes, expect him to be one of the most well known lawmakers in the country.

Source: Financial Times

And an AP follow-up on this story ...

Brazil clown may be barred from Congress
By Stan Lehman (AP)

SAO PAULO — The clown who got more votes than any other candidate for Congress will have to convince authorities he can read and write if he wants to take office.

In a ruling posted on the Sao Paulo electoral court's website Tuesday, a judge found there is sufficient doubt about whether comic performer Tiririca — which means "grumpy" in Portuguese — meets a constitutional mandate that federal lawmakers be literate.

Tiririca, whose real name is Francisco Silva, will have 10 days after being notified of the ruling to prove his literacy through a written defense. If it fails, he will be barred from taking up his seat representing Sao Paulo in Congress.

Silva's run for office attracted wide coverage in the news media, and his online campaign videos drew millions of viewers, with slogans such as "It can't get any worse" and "What does a federal deputy do? Truly, I don't know. But vote for me and you'll find out."

But a week before the election, Epoca magazine reported that people who worked with Silva on his TV shows and a book credited to him say he is illiterate, as is 10 percent of Brazil's population.

A video on Epoca's website shows a reporter reading questions from an election poll to Silva. He is then asked to read one of the questions himself. Visibly shaken, he hesitates before campaign aides rush to the rescue.

Prosecutors asked the Sao Paulo electoral court to intervene last week, but it said Silva's candidacy could not be stopped because the court had approved his application to run for Congress, including a document in which Silva swears he can read and write.

After Sunday's election in which the clown received about 1.3 million votes — nearly twice the tally of the next-highest vote-getter in Brazil's congressional races — prosecutors refiled their motion.

Judge Aloisio Silveira ruled that there were discrepancies between Silva's written statement and autographs he gave to fans, and he must therefore demonstrate to the court that he can read and write.

Silva's campaign-press manager did not immediately respond to e-mailed requests for comment.

Vladimir Porfirio, spokesman for Silva's political party, declined to comment on the ruling but said the campaign met all legal requirements.

"We are ready to prove the rigorous legality of his candidacy," Porfirio said.

If Silva is barred from office, the votes he received will be declared invalid and a complex formula will be used to redistribute the congressional seats at stake.

Brazil's 513-seat lower house is filled using an open-list proportional representation system that allocates seats to parties according to the total number of votes their candidates win — meaning extremely successful candidates can sometimes pull several allies into office.

Source: Associated Press