Politics · Brazil · 4 hrs ago
Bolsonaro’s gains reshape politics in the birthplace of Brazil’s MST
Flávio Bolsonaro won the most votes in Pontão, a small rural town in southern Brazil, in the latest election.
Pontão is where the Landless Workers’ Movement, or MST, held its first major occupation in 1985, when about 7,500 people occupied Fazenda Annoni.
The land-reform movement helped make the region a stronghold of the Brazilian left for decades.
The region has now shifted toward the right, with a Bolsonaro-family candidate leading the vote there for a third election in a row and the state electing PL politician Luciano Zucco as governor.
Residents and analysts link the change to stronger ties with agribusiness and support for values such as entrepreneurship and economic freedom.
Farm business conditions have also cooled, hurting local businesses such as a mechanic’s workshop that had grown during a previous boom in farming.
The MST remains active in the region, with a higher-education centre and two cooperatives employing more than 100 people.
Flávio Bolsonaro won the most votes in Pontão, where the first major mobilisation of Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement took place in 1985.
The shift reflects growing identification with agribusiness, entrepreneurship and economic freedom, according to residents and analysts interviewed.
Rio Grande do Sul also elected PL federal deputy Luciano Zucco as governor.
The MST remains active in the region, with a higher-education centre and two cooperatives that employ more than 100 people.
- Who
- Flávio Bolsonaro won the most votes in Pontão. Rio Grande do Sul elected PL federal deputy Luciano Zucco as governor.
- What
- Bolsonaro’s gains mark a political shift in a region long associated with the left and the MST.
- When
- In the election described in the article, published on November 9, 2026.
- Where
- Pontão and the surrounding region in northern Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
- Why
- Residents and analysts cited stronger identification with agribusiness, entrepreneurship and economic freedom. Economic difficulties in agriculture may also help explain Bolsonaro’s gains in areas dependent on the sector.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
About 7,500 people occupied Fazenda Annoni in Pontão in the MST’s first major mobilisation.
Aderson Tabaczinski opened a workshop for trucks and agricultural machinery in Pontão.
Tabaczinski said his workshop had its best period as agriculture was doing well and soybean prices reached a record R$200 per sack.
Flávio Bolsonaro won the most votes in Pontão, and Rio Grande do Sul elected Luciano Zucco as governor.
- Fazenda Annoni occupation
- About 7,500 people in 1985
- Pontão population
- About 3,000
- Soybean price peak
- R$200 per sack
- Tabaczinski’s workshop staff
- Six at its peak; one at the time of the report
- MST regional presence
- One higher-education centre and two cooperatives employing more than 100 people
What people are saying
When agriculture does well, people in town do well too.
He [Lula] failed to help Rio Grande do Sul as much as he could have.