International

Boulos, the housing activist who wants to reconquer São Paulo for the left

Guilherme Boulos, an activist in favor of the right to housing who has advocated occupying abandoned land, will seek this Sunday to become mayor of São Paulo and reconquer the largest city in South America for a left harassed by Bolsonaro.

It is the final stretch of the campaign for the most important municipal election in Brazil and the 42-year-old candidate has just climbed on a podium in front of the imposing City Hall building, in the center.

He wears a neat beard, which gives Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva an air as a young man, and a white shirt in a suit but without a tie, which makes him look like an office worker. An image of boring normality with which he tries to compensate for his past as an activist.

“Many are frightened by my career in social movements. I ask you here for a vote of confidence,” Boulos begins, to the applause of a handful of followers.

Boulos, after São Paulo

The candidate, supported by President Lula, is behind in the polls against the current mayor, Ricardo Nunes, supported by former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.

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He has been the victim of a campaign of hoaxes by the right that accused him, among other things, of snifing cocaine and wanting to invade private property.

Faced with that, he repeats over and over again that he is not a drug addict and that the movement he led only occupied abandoned land of large owners.

His program includes the promise of building 50,000 social housing units in a city whose homeless population has skyrocketed since the pandemic and exceeds 60,000 people.

It also promises to create support points so that app drivers can rest and expand the network of health posts to end the waiting lines.

“How can such a rich city have hungry people? We have neighborhoods with the quality of life of Sweden and others with that of the poorest countries in the world,” he exclaims.

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Beginnings in activism

Son of doctors and private school student, Boulos did not seem destined to become the promise of the Brazilian left.

In his teens, however, he asked his parents to move him to a public school, where he set up a student union.

At the age of 19, when he was already studying Philosophy at university, he left home to live in a building occupied by the Homeless Workers Movement, of which he later became a leader.

“When he entered the social movements, it was realized,” Marcos Boulos, father of the candidate and renowned infectious disease specialist, recently told the newspaper Folha de São Paulo.

In politics

From activism he jumped to politics with the Socialism and Freedom Party, with which he tried unsuccessfully to win the Mayor’s Office of São Paulo in 2020. In 2022, he was elected a federal deputy with the second highest vote in the country.

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Two years later, the lack of names with traction in the Workers’ Party led Lula to choose him as a candidate for elections that are a warm-up for the 2026 presidential elections.

Cíntia Martins, a 45-year-old volunteer who is on the spot in front of the City Hall, hopes that she will be elected.

“I’ve been following him since before entering politics and I like how he treats the most humble… We know that he is from the real neighborhood, even if he is the son of doctors,” he tells EFE, while waving a campaign flag.

At the end of his speech, Boulos raises his fist, says “until victory, God willing,” and gets into the van with which he will travel the suburbs until the day of the election.

“I’ve already backpacked and I’ll only go home on the weekend,” he says, before closing the door.

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International

UK braces for potential CO₂ shortage amid Middle East tensions

The government of United Kingdom is preparing contingency measures amid fears of a potential shortage of carbon dioxide (CO₂), which could impact the agri-food industry if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, The Times reported on Thursday.

According to the newspaper, officials assessed this scenario during a recent crisis meeting aimed at evaluating the consequences of a prolonged conflict, triggered on February 28 by joint attacks from United States and Israel against Iran.

Under this scenario, CO₂ supplies—primarily a byproduct of fertilizer production using natural gas—could fall by up to 18%, affecting multiple sectors including agriculture and food production.

The gas is widely used in the slaughter of pigs and poultry, as well as in extending the shelf life of packaged foods. Breweries could also face disruptions due to reduced availability.

“I don’t want to comment on a leak, but now that the information is out there, I hope people feel reassured knowing we are working on it,” said Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Business and Trade, in remarks to Sky News.

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While a drop in CO₂ supply is not expected to cause major shortages in supermarkets, it could limit product variety, The Times noted, citing access to internal government documents.

To mitigate the impact, authorities are considering prioritizing CO₂ supply for critical sectors such as healthcare and civil nuclear energy, where it is used in cooling systems for blood reserves, organs, vaccines, and electricity generation. The government may also request domestic producers to increase output.

Central America

El Salvador and Paraguay approve 2026–2028 cooperation program

The governments of El Salvador and Paraguay approved the 2026–2028 Cooperation Program, which includes six joint development projects, according to Salvadoran Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Adriana Mira.

Mira stated that El Salvador will act as the “main provider of cooperation,” contributing five initiatives focused on road infrastructure, tourism, and local development. She also noted that one of the projects will be led by the Paraguayan side, although no further details were disclosed.

The agreement was reached during the Second Meeting of the Joint Commission on Technical and Scientific Cooperation between both countries.

According to Paraguay’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the First Meeting of the Political Consultation and Bilateral Coordination Mechanism was also held, with the participation of Vice Minister Víctor Verdún.

In an official statement, the Paraguayan government reported that both delegations agreed to identify mechanisms to promote competitiveness, economic growth, and market access. They also committed to signing agreements related to air transport cooperation.

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International

Macron meets Machado, stresses need for democratic transition in Venezuela

Emmanuel Macron met on Monday at the Élysée Palace with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, where they discussed the importance of advancing a democratic transition in Venezuela.

In a message shared on social media, Macron highlighted Machado’s commitment to freedom and stressed the need to achieve a transition that is peaceful and respects the will of the Venezuelan people.

“I received María Corina Machado, Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Together, we discussed her commitment to freedom and the importance of achieving a democratic, peaceful transition in Venezuela that respects the will of its people,” he wrote.

For her part, Machado expressed her “deep gratitude” to Macron and to France for their support of democracy and freedom in Venezuela.

“We have gone through a long and painful journey, and we are now very close to freedom. Venezuela will become a nation of free and equal men and women—prosperous, safe, and united,” she said.