Eduardo Rangel (Brazilian presidential candidate, 2022)

[Blow by blow, the passion dies]

Eduardo Rangel was born in 1976 in Campo Maior, Piauí. He grew up middle-class, claiming to genuinely understand their concerns.

Rangel worked in the public construction sector from 1995 onwards, having no clear political views at the time.

In 1998, Rangel supported Ciro Gomes' presidential campaign, although he ultimately voted for Lula. He joined PT one year later.

In 2000, Eduardo Rangel married Maria Barros, a middle school teacher; they had three children.

Four years later, Rangel entered politics by running for the city council as an anti-corruption leftist, being easily elected. As a councillor, he focused on tackling corruption and improving education, unsuccessfully pushing for every school in Campo Maior to be connected to the Internet by 2008, and the repeal of parliamentary immunity.

In 2010, Rangel ran for state deputy, promising to expand welfare programs, fight corruption, improve the quality of healthcare and education, and prevent crime. He won the election.

As a state deputy, Rangel was the most vocal populist in the state legislature, repeatedly criticizing the state governor for his supposed corruption, and successfully proposing the connection of every school and library in Piauí to the Internet by 2014. Another accomplishment was tax breaks for consumer cooperatives.

In 2013, Rangel joined the Solidariedade party, announced his candidacy for Governor of Piauí, being easily elected against the incumbent in the runoff.

As Governor, Eduardo Rangel created a child tax credit, launched several corruption investigations, raised pay for teachers and funding for primary education, increased doctors' wages, expanded access to contraception, overhauled the state criminal criminal code and increased funding for the military police.

In 2015, Rangel was accused of receiving undisclosed campaign donations, but an investigation found no evidence of that.

In 2018, Rangel considered running for President, bit instead he endorsed Ciro Gomes, and was reelected to the governorship in the first round.

During his second term, Rangel continued his policies, and worked with Jair Bolsonaro whenever possible.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Governor of Piauí attracted nationwide attention for his policy on the matter; he formed a commission with the state's top doctors, while balancing economic necessity with public health. However, Rangel also frequently criticized Jair Bolsonaro.

On March 26, 2022, Rangel announced his candidacy for President of Brazil, immediately resigning from the governorship of Piauí.

Rangel campaigned as a socially conservative leftist, supporting land reform, a wealth tax while simplifying the tax code, recreating and expanding Bolsa Família, mandatory rehabilitation for drug criminals, increasing teachers' wages, relentlessly fighting corruption, closing corporate tax loopholes, relaxing restrictions on gun ownership, keeping abortion illegal, purchasing the agricultural surplus yearly and using it to provide low-cost food for the poor, following an independent foreign policy, and taking action against police brutality.

At one point, Rangel was polling at 4%, but the media and leftists began to report negatively on his candidacy, and he won 0.89% of the vote, doing best in his home state of Piauí with 4.98% of the vote.

Rangel endorsed Lula in the runoff.