Eduardo Paes, left, before losing weight with Ozempic, Photo: Silvia Izquierdo / AP
Brazilian politician Eduardo Paes, who recently attracted international attention for his promise to offer free injections of the weight-loss drug Ozempic, has been elected mayor of Rio de Janeiro for the fourth time. This was reported by France24.
In the local elections, Paes won 60.4% of the vote in the first round, beating his main rival, Alexandre Ramage, a former intelligence chief, who received 30.8%. Ramagem is closely associated with former President Jair Bolsonaro, while Paes was backed by the country’s current leader, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Eduardo Paes, who first took office as mayor in 2009 and organised the Rio Olympics in 2016, is back in the spotlight for his unusual election promise. He promised to make the drug Ozempic available to all city residents to help them fight obesity.
“Ozempic for all” – an unusual plan of the mayor
During the campaign, Paes admitted that he himself had lost almost 30 pounds thanks to Ozempic, a drug that is usually prescribed to treat type 2 diabetes, but which has also become a popular weight loss product. The mayor of Rio has promised that once the patent for the drug expires, he plans to make it available in the city’s healthcare system.
However, his claims about the patent were not entirely accurate. The patent for semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic, does not expire in Brazil until 2026, which casts doubt on the plan’s speedy implementation. Nevertheless, Paes expressed his determination to reduce the cost of the drug and make it affordable for the population.
Although Ozempic was created to treat diabetes, its ability to promote weight loss has caused great demand around the world.
