TSE (Top Electoral Court) data shows that PL candidates for president and state government won more votes than PT candidates in all cities in the northeast and northern Santa Catarina Plateau. However, the advantage of the right over the left varies by municipality.

PL and PT candidates compete in runoff for federal and state governments – Photo: Disclosure/Arte ND

Dispute between presidential candidates

The city that gave Bolsonaro the most votes in the region was São João do Itapério. In the municipality, 77.50% of voters voted for the incumbent president. The city that voted the least for the PL candidate, in turn, was Major Vieira, where 49.49% chose Bolsonaro.

The municipality with the most votes for Lula in the first round was Papaduwa, where 42.48% of voters voted for the PT candidate. Meanwhile, the city with the lowest number of votes for the former president was Massaranduba, where he was chosen by 17.59% of voters.

São João do Itapério was also the municipality with Bolsonaro’s biggest lead over Lula: 77.50% x 18.14%. On the other hand, in Papaduwa, the most bitter dispute flared up between them: 51.53% for Bolsonaro and 42.48% for Lula.

With more or less difference between the PL and PT candidates, the fact is that they received the most votes in all the cities of the Northeast and the Northern Plateau. Check the numbers by county in the table:

Dispute between gubernatorial candidates

In the race for state government, voting among all candidates was more dispersed. For example, in Bela Vista do Toldo, Jean Loureiro received the most votes (21.83%), against 21.70% for Desiu Lima (Portugal) and 21.65% for Jorginho Mello (Poland).

Incidentally, Bela Vista do Toldo is also the only city in the region where Desio Lima had more votes than Jorginho Mello, albeit by a small margin. It was there that the PL candidate received the fewest votes among the municipalities in the North East and Planalto Norte.

On the other hand, the largest number of votes for Jorginho Mello was given by Jaragua do Sul, where the candidate received the votes of 56.19% of the voters. Desio Lima won the most voters in Papanduwa with 26.56% of the vote.

The dispute between the two candidates had the biggest difference in Massaranduba, where Jorginho won 54.51% of the vote and Desiu 10.50%. The smallest advantage occurred in Bela Vista do Toldo. Check out the votes of candidates in the municipalities of the region:

What explains the result of the elections in the region

In general, the region lost more votes to the PL candidates, although in some cities Bolsonaro and Jorginho Mello had a smaller advantage over Lula and Desio Lima. Political scientist Eduardo Guerini explains that there has been a verticalization of the election campaign.

“We have a polarization of the electoral process with verticalization in Santa Catarina. The election campaign was nationalized given that the candidates who ran for state government were either Bolsonarist or petist,” he says.

However, according to him, there is a predominance of the right. “The proportionate results show that Santa Catarina is still a territory in which the capillary nature of Bolsonaris, conservatism and antipetism can be traced,” he assesses.

But given this trend, what explains Bolsonaro’s smaller lead in some Northern Plateau cities like Bela Vista do Toldo, Papanduva, Mayor Vieira and Monte Castelo? For Guerini, it is about the historical and social context of the region.

“In the case of these cities, there is a history of social movements such as Movimento Sem Terra that is associated with PT, and there is already a history of municipal government experience with PT. So it is likely that this vote is going around the city,” he analyzes.

Despite this, differences between municipalities do not change the overall trend, Guerini explains. “This does not necessarily change the scenario because the electoral density of these municipalities is very low. Cities may have nuances, but this does not show a trend,” he emphasizes.

The second round of elections for governor and president will take place on October 30, and more than 5.4 million voters are expected to take part in Santa Catarina.