2024 Municipal Elections in 5,000 Cities in Brazil

In 2024, the 26 mayors of the capitals and more than 5,500 other cities in the country will be chosen, in addition to representatives of the City Council in each of them. Municipalities with more than 200,000 voters will hold a second round if necessary. The date of the first round will be on the first Sunday of October the 6th. The second round will occur on the last Sunday of the month, the 27th. Most campaigns are financed with resources from the Electoral Fund and the Special Fund for Financial Assistance to Political Parties, the Party Fund.

Due to its vast territorial extension, exactly 8,510,345.538 km², Brazil has different types of cities – urban cities, cities in rural regions, and cities with vast forest areas. Candidates for office in each type of city are expected to have environmental platforms.

In urban cities, candidates are expected to emphasize sustainable environmental systems. We need to take Curitiba or even Stockholm as an example, a model of a sustainable city in Europe, which invested in sustainability plans that transformed the rivers of the capital of Sweden, which were polluted, into suitable places for fishing and implemented garbage dumps for wastewater systems. Vacuum that does not require collection by trucks. Plus, an ambitious plan to reduce the use of fossil fuels.

Meanwhile, in cities located in rural regions, candidates are expected to emphasize different sustainable practices, such as ecological soil management. This is a set of appropriate practices that provide the soil with conditions for good biological activity, allowing the improvement and maintenance of its natural fertility (physical, chemical, and biological) to ensure good crop productivity.

Finally, for cities in forested areas, candidates should prioritize their commitment to preventing deforestation, forest fires, and the illegal exploitation of mineral resources. Elected mayors and councilors face significant challenges in upholding environmental protection.

Elected mayors are not plenipotentiaries; they constitute the executive branch, and councilors constitute the legislative branch. Sometimes, governing a city becomes complicated when a turbulent relationship exists between the Mayor and the City Council. Another point is the budget issue. Many municipalities are impoverished and depend on federal resources and other wealthy ones.

According to the Federal Constitution, the federal government must transfer to municipalities a portion of 22.5% of the resources collected by Income Tax (IR) and Tax on Industrialized Products (IPI), and this is done through the Participation Fund of Municipalities (FPM).

This distribution follows a coefficient calculation; the calculation is made by multiplying the “population factor” by the “per capita income factor,” respecting the quantitative proportions of each city. The FPM allocates 10% of its resources to capitals, including Brasília, another 3.6% to “Reserve” municipalities, which have a population above 142,633 inhabitants (excluding capitals), and the remaining 86.4% is distributed to the “Interior,” which are cities that do not fit into the other two categories.

In practice, population ranges are fixed, and the amount received by each city hall depends on its coefficient. Talking about money is essential because implementing comprehensive and lasting policies, especially regarding the environment, also depends on investments.

In short, to advance agendas related to the environment, we have a complexity of factors, ranging from political will, the balance between mayor and councilors, the availability of financial resources, and logistical issues related to the vast national territory.

This Post was submitted by Climate Scorecard Brazil Country Manager Carlos Alexandre de Oliveira.

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