With the votes counted, the first round of the presidential election was not enough to determine the country's next political leader; candidates Fernando Haddad, of the Workers' Party, and Jair Bolsonaro, of the Social Liberal Party, will face off once again in the runoff vote on October 28.
Political differences and ideological discrepancies aside, the next president will have, among many other tasks, the responsibility of providing federal support for the development of Brazilian cities—home to about 87% of the country's population. To contribute to the debate and—if it is ArchDaily's place to do so—help undecided voters make up their minds, we have compiled below the proposals of both presidential candidates for the future of cities, based on their respective government platforms, covering topics such as housing, urban development, infrastructure, sustainability, mobility, and the right to the city.
Fernando Haddad
Territorial Planning
The candidate envisions the "drafting of a new National Regional and Territorial Development Policy (PDRT), aiming to expand opportunities for productive inclusion to the interior of the country for everyone and reduce inequalities." According to his government platform, "it will also be necessary to develop territorial regulatory and governance frameworks that allow territorial designations to be considered in macroeconomic and development financing policies by BNDES, CEF, BB, and regional banks, as well as to expand the capacity of states and municipalities, constrained by public debt, to finance their development and generate better-distributed jobs and income across the Brazilian territory."
The government plan indicates that the Regional and Territorial Development Policy "also requires a new Brazilian agenda for education and research linked to local and regional knowledge networks, advancing the creation and dissemination of knowledge, indicators, and public policy models that are specific and capable of guiding territorial, integrated, inclusive, and sustainable development with a vision for the future."
Right to the City
Haddad’s government plan understands the right to the city not only as "combating inequalities through the provision of decent housing, legal security of land tenure, and basic urban infrastructure conditions, which are part of the urban reform agenda, but also the democratization of urban spaces, prioritizing roads for public transit and active mobility, and the prospect of making cities cleaner and healthier." The candidate "reaffirms his commitment to the urban reform agenda and will address housing needs through a strategy that considers the hierarchy, diversity, and complexity of the urban network in structuring urban policies, alongside different ways of tackling the housing problem. The economic and population weight of cities requires an urban development policy as a strategic component for implementing a national project that restores the fight against inequalities as a fundamental commitment."
Urban Development
The candidate's program aims to establish a "new Regulatory Framework for Urban Development, referencing the New Urban Agenda approved at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development. The goal of this new framework is to guarantee the right to the city, the democratization of public space, and urban sustainability."
He also intends to create the "National Urban Development System (SNDU), which will improve mechanisms of federative cooperation and [...] establish a technical assistance program to qualify and increase the technical and management capacity of municipalities and states, which, in turn, will be encouraged to expand their contribution to strengthening the institutional and management capacity of local government, which is primarily responsible for urban policies."
Housing
The candidate intends to address the housing issue "through a variety of solutions, including: urbanization and land regularization of irregular subdivisions and precarious settlements; production of new Social Interest Housing (HIS) units, including public, private, and self-managed initiatives; social rental housing; retrofitting of residential buildings in consolidated areas; implementation of social housing subdivisions; and the provision of building materials and technical assistance for affordable housing."
His government plan provides for the improvement of the Minha Casa, Minha Vida Program (PMCMV), "seeking to prioritize the location of housing developments in consolidated areas equipped with urban infrastructure and closer to jobs. Furthermore, the development of higher-quality projects will be encouraged, as well as the incorporation of environmental best practices and technologies, such as water reuse and energy efficiency."
Urban Mobility and Accessibility
"The government's priority will be to support the expansion and modernization of public transit systems, primarily high- and medium-capacity ones—trains, subways, light rail (LRT), BRT, and exclusive bus lanes. Simultaneously, States, the Federal District, and Municipalities will be encouraged to promote comfortable public transit—low floors, front engines, air conditioning, soft suspension—and the implementation of bike lanes, requiring these policies as a condition for accessing mobility funds. The strategic guideline is to promote accessible and inclusive public transit for people with disabilities and the elderly, providing comfort and safety to passengers while anticipating the fact that, in the coming years, there will be more elderly people than children in Brazil."
Urban Resilience
"Urban resilience to reduce disaster risk will be pursued through measures that promote adaptation to climate change. To this end, the government will invest in urban defense and drainage actions to prevent, control, and mitigate the risks of recurrent floods, as well as the cleanup of waterways. In addition, it will support measures for hillside containment and landslide prevention in high-risk areas, as well as support the structuring and strengthening of natural disaster monitoring and warning systems."
Infrastructure
According to the candidate's government plan, "the efficient provision of infrastructure is one of the pillars of development, as it positively affects the productivity and competitiveness of the economic system, while also improving social well-being. In a continental country like Brazil, it is a fundamental factor for integration, environmental balance, and the reduction of regional and social inequalities. For Brazil to grow and develop, it is necessary to prioritize investments in infrastructure—which generate jobs and boost the economy—guided by the pursuit of sustainability."
Sustainability
According to the candidate's program, the government "will invest in improving the energy model, guided by the following principles: (1) resuming public control, halting privatizations; (2) diversifying the electricity matrix, directing investments to expand renewable energy generation (solar, wind, and biomass); (3) fair tariffs; and (4) social participation."
Jair Bolsonaro
Infrastructure
"According to the World Economic Forum's 2017 Global Competitiveness Report, Brazil's position relative to 136 other countries in terms of the efficiency of its infrastructure is: Railroads 88th; Airports 95th; Roads 103rd; Ports 106th. Brazil's ranking for the quality of its electricity supply is 84th." With this in mind, the candidate proposes to "reduce bureaucracy, simplify, privatize, and think strategically and in an integrated manner; the sector can stop being a bottleneck and become a solution. With low regulatory risk, Brazil will be able to attract a large amount of investment, generating jobs and reducing costs for its users."
Right to the City
Regarding land and property occupations, the candidate's government plan intends to "classify rural and urban property invasions in Brazilian territory as terrorism."
__
The information presented in this article was extracted from each candidate's government platforms, available on their official websites. The focus is on topics of relevance to cities and territories, shown here when present in the candidates' official campaign documents.
Read the full government platforms of Fernando Haddad and Jair Bolsonaro to learn more about what each candidate proposes.
This article was written by Romullo Baratto. The translation is powered by AI.
