School that honored Lula in Sapucaí is downgraded at Rio de Janeiro Carnival
Acadêmicos de Niterói, the samba school that told the story of President Lula in this year’s parade, was demoted to the Gold Series of the Rio carnival. The school, which received only two 10s during the calculation, was in last place, with 264.6 points, behind Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel.
The plot chosen by Acadêmicos de Niterói was “Hope arises from the top of Mulungu: Lula, the worker of Brazil”. The issue generated criticism and attempts at judicial intervention from Lula’s opponents, who argued that the parade would qualify as early electoral propaganda.
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The president was not directly involved in the development of the presentation and did not parade around the school, but he previously met with representatives from Acadêmicos de Niterói and was in Sapucaí on the night of Sunday (15) to Monday (16).
He followed the parade from a box provided by Rio de Janeiro City Hall, alongside Mayor Eduardo Paes (PSD), his ally, the First Lady, Janja da Silva, and ministers and other allies.
Acadêmicos de Niterói had won the Carnival Gold Series in 2025 and, therefore, marched in the Special Group this year, but will now return to the previous league. It is common for promoted schools to be relegated again the following year.
In addition to political issues, the school parade that honored Lula had technical flaws. Analysts also pointed out problems in different evaluation aspects.
Parade
The Acadêmicos de Niterói parade was heavily marked by political criticism of Lula’s opponents. Former president Jair Bolsonaro, for example, was portrayed by the school as a clown.
In addition to him, Michel Temer also appeared, in a representation of the former president ripping off the presidential sash from a woman who would also be former president Dilma Rousseff.
Another controversial point in the parade was the representation of evangelicals in cans, which led to action by the OAB-RJ for religious intolerance.
