In
Brazil
, the
mayor
is the chief executive of the smallest territorial unit ? the
municipality
(
Portuguese
:
municipio
) ? and holds executive powers of the local government, in a
"strong mayor-council"
arrangement. In
Portuguese
, the mayor is called the
prefeito
(if male) or
prefeita
(if female), while the government itself is termed the
prefeitura
.
The current system of mayor and council (called the
Camara Municipal
) dates from the
1930 revolution
and the
Vargas era
, albeit with changes how elections are conducted. Until 1982, Brazilian mayors were usually elected by the local population, with the exception of state capitals, international border towns, and "national security zones" (which included strategic
mining
places)
[
citation needed
]
.
With the end of the
military dictatorship
and enacting of the
1988 Constitution
, all mayors and councillors in the nation are elected every four years.
[1]
Mayors are elected by
a first past the post system
in most municipalities?however, if its population is over 200,000, an outright majority is needed to win or the vote will go to a
second round runoff election
.
[2]
The most recent election was held in
2020
.
The federal capital,
Brasilia
, has no mayor; instead, executive duties are carried out by the Governor of the
Federal District
.
The insular district of
Fernando de Noronha
which belongs to the State of
Pernambuco
doesn't have a mayor, but has an administrator appointed by the Governor, the administrator performs the duties of a mayor during a four-year term, and like Brasilia, the district doesn't have municipal elections.
In Brazil, mayors of larger cities, such as
Rio de Janeiro
and
Sao Paulo
, have considerable influence in national
politics
and are usually potential presidential candidates.
Mayors of Brazilian state capitals as of April 2021
[3]
[4]
[
edit
]
*
Maguito Vilela
of the
MDB
was elected in 2020, but died during his term. Vice-mayor
Rogerio Cruz
thus succeeded him.
[6]
**
Bruno Covas
of the
PSDB
was elected in 2020, but died during his term. Vice-mayor Ricardo Nunes thus succeeded him.
[7]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]