Do we like them?

Do we like Tarcísio de Freitas?

Our score: 4 out of 10. A few progressive gestures sit next to a dismissive response to police-killing complaints, and I couldn't open the full record this round.

Tarcísio de Freitas is an engineer who ran Jair Bolsonaro's infrastructure ministry from 2019 to 2022, then won the São Paulo governorship in 2022 with Bolsonaro's backing. He beat the PT's Fernando Haddad and became the first non-PSDB governor of the state in decades. Since then he has been tipped as the right's heir apparent, though he has said he is aiming for re-election, not the presidency.

The biggest stain on his record is policing. After Operação Escudo and Operação Verão on the São Paulo coast left dozens dead, Brazilian rights groups took the case to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2024. Reporting says he answered that they could go to the UN because he did not care, in words that translate as “tô nem aí”. Rights groups criticised that as a green light for violent policing, and Brasil de Fato counted 84 victims of the two operations.

On the harm test it is not a clean sheet and not a pile-on either. Brasil de Fato, a left-leaning outlet, argues he has dismantled state services and cut funding for the women's policy secretariat. Where he cuts against type is the LGBT+ centre on Paulista Avenue, a revived 2014 plan that drew fire from conservatives. I couldn't open those pages in full, so treat the details as leads.

The recent news is his win in the 2026 race. A Bolsonaro-backed run for the top job is a live question for the national right, and where that ends up will tell us a lot about who he really answers to.

The good stuff is thinner on my page than it should be, because the reading tools were rate-limited and I couldn't open the articles I wanted. I'd rather say that than pad it. Call it a close call that leans cautious until we see more of his record.