Vote for Tiririca, Because it Can’t Get Any Worse!
What does it say about a country’s political system when a clown is running for Congress?
Francisco Everaldo Oliveira Silva, known as Tiririca, has never run for political office. In fact, he’s never voted. But the professional clown and well-known TV personality is hoping to represent São Paulo in the House of Representatives beginning next year.
Tiririca, who is a professional clown, is running for Congress
His campaign slogan is: “Vote for Tiririca, because it can’t get any worse!” His TV ads make a similar point: “What does a Congressman do? Actually, I don’t know. But vote for me and I’ll tell you!”
In an interview with Folha de S. Paulo, Tiririca admitted he had never voted before, could not name one specific issue he planned to tackle if elected, and said he did not really know what a Congressman does.
Tiririca is running on the common assumption that professional politicians are corrupt and not to be trusted. By that logic, perhaps someone from outside the political sphere would better represent the population. In fact, he is one of a number of artists and personalities running for office on a similar assumption. But if a professional clown can get elected to the House of Representatives, what would that say about the Brazilian public’s – or at least São Paulo voters’ – opinion of the political system?
