João Jorge, vice president of São Paulo’s City Council, formally announced his candidacy on Monday to lead the body starting next year. The council is scheduled to elect its leadership on December 15.
Jorge, a member of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), has long sought the post, but former councilor Milton Leite had opposed his ambitions. Leite was arrested on September 18, weakening that opposition, according to the report.
Jorge has the support of Mayor Ricardo Nunes, also of the MDB, and current council president Ricardo Teixeira, of the União party. But Isac Félix, a councilor who leads the Liberal Party (PL) in São Paulo and is also part of Nunes’s governing base, said the party’s caucus would put forward its own candidate.
Jorge is working to secure support in a divided council, including within União. The MDB, PL and União each have seven councilors, while the Workers’ Party (PT) has eight.
“I started organizing the day after the runoff election. I’ve already begun contacting councilors and caucuses. We still have to resolve the issue with the PL and Isac,” Jorge told Painel.
Although Leite left the council in 2024, he had influenced the previous leadership election. He enforced an agreement with the MDB that gave the council presidency to União, in exchange for the party’s support for Nunes’s reelection that year.
Jorge has served as a councilor since 2016. He was a government leader during the administrations of João Doria and Bruno Covas, and also served as the city’s chief of staff.
Sources: Folha Poder.