Politics Steals the Show on Rio Carnival’s Opening Night

The world’s biggest street party opened on Sunday night at Rio de Janeiro’s Sambadrome and turned into a political firestorm. Acadêmicos de Niterói, a newly promoted samba school, devoted its 80-minute debut to President Lula’s life — from his childhood in Pernambuco’s backlands to the presidency. One float featured a clown in a prison jumpsuit and ankle monitor, an unmistakable jab at jailed ex-president Jair Bolsonaro. Lula watched from a VIP box, then descended to kiss the school’s banner on the avenue. This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of Brazil politics and Latin American financial news.

The opposition erupted. The Novo party vowed an electoral fraud complaint, former judge Sergio Moro called it the work of a strongman, and critics seized on the R$1 million ($170,000) the school received from Embratur, Brazil’s federal tourism agency. Courts had rejected multiple lawsuits seeking to block the parade, ruling the theme artistic rather than electoral. But with Brazil voting for president in October, the spectacle felt less like biography and more like a campaign launch — bankrolled in part by public money.

Once the politics faded, the artistry arrived. Imperatriz Leopoldinense delivered a tribute to Ney Matogrosso, one of Brazil’s most boundary-breaking performers. The 83-year-old rode the final float himself, reviving five decades of reinvention from the iconic band Secos & Molhados to his solo career. Singer Iza, the school’s drum queen, led the 400-strong percussion section through the avenue.

Portela supplied the night’s most dramatic image: a performer soaring over the avenue on a piloted drone. The school honored a Beninese prince who became a pillar of Black culture in southern Brazil, but nearly blew its time limit when the final float entered late, forcing performers to sprint through the dispersal gate with barely a minute to spare.

Mangueira closed the night celebrating Mestre Sacaca, a healer from northern Amapá state whose mastery of medicinal plants and forest rituals made him a guardian of Afro-Indigenous traditions. Eight more schools parade Monday and Tuesday before judges announce results. But in a Carnival projected to draw 65 million people and generate R$12 billion ($2 billion) for the economy, the opening-night collision of samba and politics will define the 2026 edition — and likely echo through the campaign trail for months.

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