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The rhinoceros Cacareco, born in captivity in Rio de Janeiro in 1954, was loaned by the city's zoo for the inauguration of the São Paulo Zoo in March 1958.
At the time, Cacareco was the highlight and the most sought-after animal by the 200 people who attended the ceremony.
Jânio Quadros even said that ‘with the poster as it is, Cacareco would be a strong candidate for the Champs-Élysées’ (a reference to the seat of the state government).
Jânio's prediction was almost right: the rhinoceros would not run for government, but for a seat in the Chamber of the City Council.
The initiative for this protest vote came from journalist Itaboraí Martins, who at the time worked for the newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo, and ‘launched’ the animal's candidacy for the elections that would take place on 4 October 1959.
This idea represented a protest vote by the population, who were dissatisfied with the politicians of the time.
According to information from the São Paulo Legislative Assembly (Alesp), the initial tactic to publicise the candidacy consisted of graffiti on walls and advertising on television debate programmes.
The movement was well received by the population, and some printing companies even printed ‘campaign flyers’ with the animal's name. A jingle was even created: ‘Tired of suffering so much / And of being kicked around / Let's respond now / By voting for Cacareco.’
When the votes were counted, Councillor Cacareco was ‘elected’.
Although the Regional Electoral Court did not officially disclose the number of votes received by the rhinoceros, as they were classified as invalid, it is estimated that she received around 100,000 votes, almost 10% of the total number of eligible voters in the capital.
Considering that 934,794 voters turned out for those elections, with an abstention rate of 16.5%, the animal received more than 10% of the valid votes in that election.
The vote was so significant that she received more votes than any of the other 450 candidates for the 45 seats in the chamber.
The campaign was so intense that even in other cities, such as Marília, votes were cast for Cacareco.
The state secretary of agriculture at the time, José Bonifácio Coutinho Nogueira, tried to buy Cacareco from the Rio de Janeiro zoo, but was unsuccessful.
She was eventually returned to Rio de Janeiro on 1 October, a few days before the São Paulo election.
She died at the Rio de Janeiro zoo in December 1962, at the age of 8. Her skeleton is currently on display at the USP Anatomy Museum.
