The former presidential chief of staff received 78,450 votes in São Paulo state, in his first election bid since 1999.
Former Brazilian presidential chief of staff José Dirceu failed to win a seat in the Chamber of Deputies for São Paulo state, receiving 78,450 votes on Sunday.
The Brazil of Hope federation, which brings together the Workers' Party (PT), Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB) and Green Party (PV), won about 2.8 million votes and 11 of the 70 seats allocated to the state in the lower house. It was Dirceu's first campaign for office since 1999, when he won a seat in the chamber.
A leader in the student movement in the 1960s, Dirceu was arrested and exiled during Brazil's military dictatorship. After an amnesty in 1980, he helped establish the PT. When Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in 2003, Dirceu became his chief of staff.
His tenure was marked by controversies including the Mensalão case. He later became a target of the Lava Jato investigation. Released in 2018, he had his convictions annulled in October 2024. Dirceu told CNN Brasil that he decided to run again after an invitation from President Lula.