São Paulo governor Doria wins PSDB primary and will be party’s 2022 presidential candidate

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Doria beat Rio Grande do Sul governor Eduardo Leite and the ex-mayor of Manaus Arthur Virgilio. According to PSDB, Doria won 53.99% of the votes, 17,470 out of a total of 29,360 participating affiliates. Eduardo Leite won 44.66% of the votes (11,295) and Arthur Virgílio Neto received 1.35% (427 votes).

“Ladies and gentlemen, Brazilians from all corners of the country, PSDB has decided that our candidate for the 2022 presidential race is governor João Doria,” announced the PSDB national president Bruno Araújo.

João Doria, 63, entered public life as São Paulo’s Secretary of Tourism and President of Paulistur (1983-1986) during the Mário Covas administration.

With a degree in journalism and advertising, he founded the Lide business group in 2003. He was mayor of São Paulo between 2017 and 2018, resigning to run for state governor, even after publicly pledging that he would complete his term as mayor.

He was elected governor in 2018 after linking his campaign to that of President Jair Bolsonaro, with the slogan “BolsoDoria.”

Later, he broke with the President during the pandemic, seeking to distance his image from Bolsonaro’s denialist stance regarding the virus.

“To practice democracy isn’t easy, but it’s the best way,” Doria said on Saturday, before his victory was announced. “We are all in the same boat. We want a new path of understanding, within PSDB and with other parties,” he added.

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