Overview
- Acadêmicos de Niterói inaugurated Rio’s Sambadrome parades with an 80‑minute biographical homage to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, marking the first time a sitting president was the theme of a Rio school’s show.
- Opposition parties Novo and Missão accused the tribute of premature electoral propaganda tied to publicly funded samba schools, but the Superior Electoral Court unanimously declined to block it in advance and kept the case open.
- Lula watched from a VIP box with Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and seven ministers, as First Lady Rosângela “Janja” da Silva dropped a planned appearance to reduce legal exposure.
- Organizers told more than 3,000 performers to avoid partisan gestures such as the “L” hand sign and not to solicit votes, and said they had presented the project’s concept to Lula in Brasília months earlier.
- Floats and lyrics included pointed references to contemporary politics, including satire of Jair Bolsonaro and calls of “no amnesty,” while legal analysts cautioned that proven misuse of public resources or explicit campaigning could lead to fines or loss of free TV time.