‘There could be an election every 15 days’, says Lula and Bolsonaro towel seller

It was past 10:30 am on Wednesday (19) when a man dressed in a suit and tie approached the point of sale of the street vendor Lucas Bandeira, 28, on a sidewalk in downtown Rio de Janeiro.

At the place, the pedestrian aimed at towels with the prints of the faces of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and Jair Bolsonaro (PL), who are running in the second round of the presidential elections.

“How much do they cost?” asked the man. “R$30”, replied Bandeira. “Do you have a bag?”, amended the pedestrian. “Yes,” said the salesman.

The conversation soon evolved into a completed deal: the customer decided to buy a towel from former President Lula. “For me, there could be an election every 15 days”, jokes Bandeira, who has been selling the products since July.

In the evaluation of informal workers, the dispute has generated a bonus – or a kind of “13th, 14th or 15th salary”. The income obtained from products that refer to Lula and Bolsonaro complements the sales of items such as blankets and hammocks.

At his point of sale, the worker set up a scoreboard on a chalkboard, nicknamed “Data Toalha”, in a joke that makes reference to Datafolha. With each piece traded, the count is updated.

Until Wednesday morning, the score for the second round of towels indicated 76 for Lula and 42 for Bolsonaro. Since the beginning of the electoral race, the PT’s number has risen from 480, while Bolsonaro’s has surpassed 120.

Bandeira claims to respect the political preferences of each buyer. “What I want is to sell my towel. The customer is always right”, says the worker.

One of his concerns is with the heated mood in the electoral race. To avoid setbacks, Bandeira hung a message next to the sales board asking pedestrians to be calm.

“Don’t be angry with the score. Help improve! Keep shopping!”, points out the poster.

The concern with the exalted spirits is not exclusive to Bandeira. There are those who avoid giving details about the sale of towels by Lula and Bolsonaro due to fear of losing customers.

Born in Paraíba, Bandeira has been working as a salesman for a decade. Having completed high school, he reports that he even looks for a job with a formal contract, but faces disillusionment with the opportunities available.

“This here [trabalho na rua] It’s a daily stress. But to go out and get a minimum wage, I won’t. I prefer to stay here.”

Throughout the campaign, in addition to towels, items such as t-shirts, flags and caps of political opponents also gained space in commerce.

Milena Damasceno, 23, has been working for four years in a tent on Rua 25 de Março, in São Paulo. Depending on the month, the highlights at the spot can be Christmas products, Carnival costumes or bikinis and swim trunks.

Since September, T-shirts from TV series and cold-weather clothing have shared space with more unusual, electoral-themed products.

“I think it’s going to be Lula, see? Like it or not, our clientele is lower income, so for every 5 Lula flags, 1 Bolsonaro flags.”

At the tent, the towel costs R$25 —or R$20 each, starting with eight pieces— and sales remained heated after moving on to the second round.

“Some Bolsonaristas are difficult to meet —they beat the merchandise [do Lula]swear, talk to burn—but I have no preference for either, I just really want to sell.”

Working in the Brás region, also famous for popular commerce, salesman Alejandro Martínez, 23, reports that demand there is reversed: Bolsonaro’s T-shirts sell more than Lula’s.

“The proximity of the Cup with the elections did not get in the way, we ended up selling everything. It is as if part of the customers had a second reason to buy a Brazilian flag”, he says.

The owner of another stall, who declined to be identified, guarantees that everyone is treated with respect. He smiles as he offers a Brazilian flag to a customer, while taking out his cell phone to show the reporter photos of demonstrations in support of Bolsonaro on Avenida Paulista. “Our president.”

“Some people take it as a gift to their grandfather or to provoke a relative who votes for the other candidate”, says Gildo Legging, 44, a salesman for 15 years at 25 de Março. “For every 10 Lula t-shirts, I sell 1 Bolsonaro. Generally, people come to buy in large quantities.”

The demand for products related to politicians has been strong since the 2018 elections, when the Leggings stall began to offer more options on this topic.

After having to close the point for four months, to preserve and protect employees during the pandemic, while they waited for the vaccine, he says he is optimistic about the return of consumers to high street commerce.

“In addition to the tent, I managed to set up a shop here on the street. I hope to do this work for a long time to come.”

After the elections, with attention turned to the World Cup, the flags of the presidential candidates should lose ground to products that refer to the tournament, attracting a less polarized clientele.

Normally, Copa products would be sold in the middle of the year, but as everything was mixed up at the end of 2022, customers are concentrating their purchases in these final three months, says Legging.