International

The campaign for the municipal elections in Brazil leaves a trace of violence not yet clarified

The campaign for the municipal elections that Brazil celebrates this Sunday has left a trail of violence with the murder of up to fourteen candidates since the beginning of the year, although the political nature of those attacks is not yet fully clarified.

The data is contained in a report prepared by the Tierra de Derechos institute, a non-governmental organization that studies political violence in Brazil and that, during this year, identified 145 cases of attacks, threats and aggressions directly or indirectly associated with the electoral process.

Among them is the blow with a chair that the center-right candidate José Luiz Datena instold to the far-right Pablo Marçal in an electoral debate in São Paulo, which had a great media impact because it was the largest city in the country and the aggression was broadcast live on television.

But there is also the murder of Marcelo Oliveira, mayor of João Dias, who aspired to re-election in that municipality of 2,000 inhabitants in the interior of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, shot dead in the middle of the street with his father in August.

Oliveira was one of the fourteen candidates for mayor or councilor murdered since the beginning of this year for alleged political reasons, although the police authorities have not yet reached conclusions in any of those cases.

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Corruption and organized crime add to violence

According to the Federal Police, the campaign has also left some 2,200 investigations open for suspected electoral crimes, which include attempts to “buy votes” and possible corruption cases, among many others.

The cases of violence have not been directly linked to the polarization that dominates the country between the progressivism embodied by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the far right led by his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.

According to the authorities, they have been associated with local disputes, which are more acute in the small municipalities of the interior, where organized crime has more penetration.

Among the groups suspected of financing candidacies is the First Command of the Capital (PCC), which emerged three decades ago in the prisons of São Paulo and whose tentacles are now expanding throughout the national territory and reach some neighboring countries.

The numbers of the municipal elections in Brazil

The elections will be held in 5,569 cities, in which 500,183 tables are installed to elect the new mayors and members of the municipal assemblies.

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The only one of the 27 regional capitals that will not go to the polls is Brasilia, which is part of the Federal District and has a differentiated administrative regime.

In the 103 municipalities with more than 200,000 voters, there will be a second round on October 27 if none of the mayoral candidates exceeds 50% of the support.

There will be a total of 155,912,680 voters, represented by 52% by women.

Throughout the country there are 15,452 candidates for mayor, but with minimal female participation, since there are 13,128 men and 2,324 women.

Gender disparity also appears in the candidates for councilors. There are 277,869 men and 150,773 women.

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The largest polling stations are the cities of São Paulo, with 9.3 million voters, Rio de Janeiro (5,009,373) and Belo Horizonte (1,992,984).

To ensure peace of mind, all state security forces will be mobilized, as well as 23,000 members of the Armed Forces, who will also participate in the custody of the 571,024 electronic ballot boxes that voters will use.

International

Iran Reports 201 Dead, 747 Injured After U.S. and Israeli Strikes

The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported Sunday night (local time) that at least 201 people were killed and 747 injured following attacks carried out by Israel and the United States against the Islamic Republic.

A spokesperson for the humanitarian organization said more than 220 rescue teams have been deployed across affected areas and that relief operations are continuing without interruption. The official highlighted the difficulty of treating the large number of wounded and the urgent need for additional resources in impacted provinces.

Out of Iran’s 31 provinces, 24 have reported damage, according to a statement carried by the Isna news agency. This marks the first overall casualty toll released by Iranian state-affiliated media since the launch of the offensive.

Among the dead are 85 schoolgirls from a school in the southern city of Minab, according to the country’s judiciary. “The number of martyrs at the Minab girls’ school has risen to 85,” the local prosecutor’s office said, as quoted by the judiciary’s website, Mizan Online.

Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian described the attack as a “savagery” that “constitutes a new black page in the record of countless crimes committed by the aggressors.”

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Meanwhile, the international community continues to monitor the situation closely amid concerns about possible further reprisals and the broader impact on Middle East stability, energy markets, and global security.

AFP noted that it was unable to independently verify the casualty figures or the circumstances surrounding the events.

International

Pope Leo XIV Urges End to ‘Spiral of Violence’ in Middle East

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for an end to the “spiral of violence” in the Middle East, following military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran and subsequent retaliatory bombardments in the region.

“Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions, I urge the parties involved to assume their moral responsibility and stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” the pontiff told the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

Speaking during the Angelus prayer, the U.S.-born pope said stability and peace cannot be achieved through threats or weapons. “Stability and peace are not built with reciprocal threats or with arms that sow destruction, suffering and death, but only through reasonable, sincere and responsible dialogue,” he declared.

The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics also called for diplomacy to “regain its role” amid escalating tensions.

In addition, the pope urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to urgently resume dialogue after several days of clashes between the two countries.

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International

Security Council to Hold Emergency Meeting on Middle East Crisis

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday condemned the “military escalation in the Middle East” following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes, just hours before an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.

“I call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation,” Guterres said in a statement.

The Security Council is scheduled to meet on Saturday at 21:00 GMT (4:00 p.m. in New York) to address “the situation in the Middle East,” the United Nations announced.

The meeting, during which Guterres will deliver remarks, was convened at the request of France, Bahrain, Colombia, Russia and China, according to a diplomatic source.