Léo Santana's banned show ends with fine tripled to R$300,000 an hour, and the singer shrugs: 'Pay the fine? I don't know about that'

The eve of Brazil's election in Salvador came with pagodão in the middle of a legal fight. Bahia's Regional Electoral Court tripled, from R$100,000 to R$300,000 per hour, the personal fine on Mayor Bruno Reis for breaching an order banning artistic performances at the opening of the Centro Cultural Novo Mané Dendê, where Léo Santana was booked. According to the ruling, the show actually started and was only stopped after city hall acknowledged it could not overturn the injunction.

Judge Isaías Vinícius de Castro Simões spoke of 'high disrespect' for electoral court rulings and opened the door to investigating a possible crime of disobedience. The ban answered a request from Governor Jerônimo Rodrigues's (PT) coalition, which saw the risk of a campaign rally disguised as a concert; the singer had declared support for ACM Neto. The court allowed Léo to attend as a citizen but not to sing. Asked if he would pay the fine, he dodged: 'Pay the fine? I don't know about that.'

On Saturday, Salvador's city hall offered another version: it says it complied with the order, cancelled Léo Santana's show and kept the opening with a collective performance by local artists from the Subúrbio area. The administration described the higher fine as 'preventive' rather than punitive. The election takes place on Sunday (4).