Santa Catarina has around 5 million voters (Photo: José Cruz, Agência Brasil)
An election that marked history in Santa Catarina was decided by just one vote, in 2004. The case was in Indaial, in Vale do Itajaí, in a municipal election. It may be 20 years ago, but the case reflects exactly the importance of each of the votes.
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Across the State, according to the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), around 5 million people are eligible to vote. Around 2.8 million, that is, 52% of voters are women and 2.6 million (48%) are men. Single people are also in greater numbers: 53%.
In the age group, the majority are between 35 and 39 years old. Voters with completed secondary education are in greater numbers in the State, with 26% of the total.
Yacli Arno Horst, taxi driver, remembers Indaial’s historic election well. At the time, he voted for Blumenau, but his wife voted for Indaial.
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— I remember we were walking down the street and there was a candidate celebrating on top of the truck, all happy, the party people were super happy, celebrating. A few minutes passed, someone arrived and said: “another ballot box appeared with a difference of one vote”. Then they said, “Mister Mayor, you can tell that this is not the case, the other candidate won with a difference of one vote” — says the resident.
For public administration professor Daniel Pinheiro, from the State University of Santa Catarina (Udesc), an election like this year’s municipal election reflects how important it is to choose a candidate well.
— Promises that are very demagogic, or that do not bring a specific value proposition, can become empty. So the voter has to be very careful about whether the candidate’s proposal has a practical result – he explains.
In these elections, the key themes of the proposals must be:
- Infrastructure: proposals that can guarantee resources to improve existing bottlenecks in municipalities.
- Investments that can create the capacity for connection within regions.
- Health: respiratory diseases and epidemics force managers to think about alternatives for prevention and vaccination. A demand for the population not to depend solely on large hospitals.
- Education: investment in the base and in differentiated processes for dedicated education, thinking about the job market are also important topics for voters.
- Attention and assistance to people living on the streets or in vulnerable situations in municipalities, as well as migrants.
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— The municipal election is for life, for the daily life of a city, for the municipality, for the people who live there. It is the closest instance of the public sector to the citizen, of public decision-making to the citizen, of the application of public policies. That is why it is very important to look carefully, to choose well, both for the legislature, the chambers, and for the executive, for the mayor.
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