Behind the scenes of debate there are provocations and photo denied – 09/30/2024 – Power

Silence occupied the studio in the minutes before the debate Sheet/UOL this Monday morning (30). Less than a week before the elections that will decide the next mayor of São Paulo, the candidates waited intently for the first words from presenter Fabíola Cidral.

On its right side, Mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB) and federal deputy Guilherme Boulos (PSOL) stood. From the left, Pablo Marçal (PRTB) and Tabata Amaral (PSB).

Behind the cameras, one or two advisors brought by each candidate sat, always interspersed with building security guards. They were not among them Nahuel Medina, Marçal’s videographer, nor Duda Lima, the mayor’s marketer attacked by the former in the Flow group debate last Monday (23).

The time bank format, which forced candidates to manage the length of their speeches within an established limit, and the possibility of raising their hand to make interventions helped to make the confrontation more dynamic and spontaneous. The ice between the rivals soon broke.

After a first block with questions from journalists and a second with questions between the candidates, the atmosphere was one of light provocation during the break. “There will be no second round,” Marçal told the competitors. “There won’t be any for you,” replied Boulos, causing laughter in the studio.

The influencer also couldn’t hold back his laughter when the psolista made a metaphor comparing the supposed emergency works of Nunes’ administration to a hot dog, which, according to him, under his administration “would cost around R$300, because the sausage would be overpriced” .

The speech generated another moment of relaxation during the break, when the mayor took out his cell phone and showed an old report to his rival about alleged overpricing in the purchase of sausages for schools under the Fernando Haddad (PT) administration. “It was under Haddad’s administration, not mine, no”, he joked.

Marçal was especially enthusiastic about the format of the debate, which he praised repeatedly. “Very cool, congratulations,” he said, between a wave and another from his lawyer Tassio Renam to get his attention. “The others I was almost asleep.”

Meanwhile, the head of communications for Nunes’ campaign, Leandro Cipoloni, squirmed in his chair complaining that his position prevented him from making eye contact with the mayor. He ended up changing seats with the security guard next to him and spent the rest of the debate sitting on a wooden crate.

“This format favors those who are provocative”, he criticized at the end of the meeting.

Before the third block, the candidates had already used more than half of their 20 minutes of speaking time, which made the production team suggest five extra minutes each, if everyone agreed. Marçal, who had the biggest time bank at the time, was the only one to deny: “It’s the rule”, he argued.

“They don’t want to because they’re afraid of me”, commented Tabata Amaral when he found out about the refusal. She showed discomfort every time Marçal praised her search for female voters, especially when he mentioned that he would invite her to be his Secretary of Education.

After the break, interactions became more tense, especially between Marçal, Nunes and Boulos. The influencer tirelessly asked the mayor what reason led his wife, Regina Carnovale Nunes, to file a police report against him in 2011, for domestic violence.

The subject, already brought up in other debates and hearings, tends to make Nunes serious. This time it was no different — the mayor became increasingly irritated. Especially when his time bank had already run out, and Marçal continued to ask the same question.

At the end of the debate, Fabíola Cidral proposed a photo between the candidates, but the request was received with little enthusiasm. Marçal refused to pose with the competitors and suggested recording only with the presenter. “Take away [a foto] you from the communist consortium in Brazil”, he said.

In the end, there was no image. Boulos deflected by saying he needed to go to the bathroom, Marçal said he would do the same and asked the production team to allow him access to the upstairs bathroom, avoiding a meeting between the two.

Nunes, who got confused over time and evaded a series of questions throughout the meeting, quickly left the studio surrounded by advisors. He said he would go to the dressing room with his team before heading to interviews with the press gathered outside.