“Whoever sells more, Lula or Bolsonaro?” It was to answer this insistent question that the street vendor Osvaldo Pires Valentim – known as Osvaldo das Toalhas – decided to create a sign and hang it next to the clothesline where he displays his products at the point of sale located on the corner of Alameda Lorena and Avenida Nove de Julho, in Jardins, in São Paulo.
Nicknamed “Data-Toalha”, in reference to the research institute Datafolhathe board is updated every time a new product is sold to the consumer’s taste to make up the daily count.
This Thursday (4), the best seller with six towels was the pre-candidate for President Flavio Bolsonaro (PL). Tied for second place, with four towels each, appear President Lula (PT) and the pre-candidate Renan Santos (Mission).
The towel race does not necessarily reflect official polls of voting intentions. According to latest Datafolha survey held in May, Lula leads with 40% of voting intentions in the first round, followed by Flávio with 31%. Renan Santos appears with just 3%.
The sale of Renan Santos’ towels may have been boosted this Thursday by the Mission pre-candidate’s own visit to the store, which was recorded in a video published on Osvaldo das Toalhas’ Instagram profile.
“Not for nothing, but my towel is cooler”, said Santos when signing the product with his face printed on it.
In the World Cup atmosphere, the fourth place of “Data-Toalha”, with three towels sold, is not from politics, but from soccer. Neymar Jr. earned his place on Osvaldo das Toalhas’ clothesline when he and his followers on social media voted him “the best player in the history of football”.
The Jardins seller considers himself a democratic entrepreneur. The idea of selling rivals’ towels arose during the 2022 presidential campaign.
“I saw people on the internet selling (Jair) Bolsonaro’s and Lula’s towels. Some sold just Lula’s, others just Bolsonaro’s. With an entrepreneurial mind, I said: I’m going to sell both of them. And the insistent question of ‘who sells more’ made me come up with the idea of the scoreboard, which later came to be called ‘Data-Toalha'”, he told Sheet.
