--- title: "Deranged Mayor Promises “No More Fat People” With Free Ozempic Shots" description: "While seeking re-election, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro is making a huge campaign promise: free Ozempic for all." date: "2024-10-05" modified: "2024-10-05" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/rio-mayor-universal-ozempic" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "RX and Medicine" tags: - "brazil" - "ozempic" - "politics" - "Weight Loss" --- # Deranged Mayor Promises “No More Fat People” With Free Ozempic Shots ![While seeking re-election, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro is making a huge campaign promise: free Ozempic for all.]() *\Image: Michael Siluk / UCG / Universal Images Group via Getty / Futurism\* While seeking re-election, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro is making a huge campaign promise: free Ozempic for all. As [*Quartz* reports](), Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes said that he lost 66 pounds after taking the popular weight-loss injectable manufactured by Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk. "I took a lot of Ozempic, that little medicine that is helping everyone lose weight," Paes told [Brazilian newspaper *Extra*](), as translated by *Quartz*. "Its patent will expire next year, and it will be available as a generic and I will introduce it to the entire public health system." As a note, the latter claim is not exactly true. Though there have been c[hallenges to speed up the pace of generics]() in Brazil, the patent for semaglutide, the main ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, isn't [slated to expire]() in the country until 2026. After claiming he'd "introduce" the generic into the city's public health system without discussing how he would undertake such an endeavor as the leader of an individual municipality, the longtime Rio mayor then made an even bolder claim. "Rio will be a city where there will be no more fat people," Paes declared. "Everyone will be taking Ozempic at family clinics." Problematic fatphobia aside, Rio de Janeiro's population is a [whopping 13.7 million]() people, making his claim a massive stretch. Understandably, Paes' controversial comments opened him up to criticism from opponents in the mayoral election, which is set to occur on October 6. Mayoral candidate Alexandre Ramagem, [posted a carousel on his campaign's Instagram]() showing voters complaining online about lacking basic medical necessities in the face of Paes' comments. Fellow mayor hopeful Tarcísio Motta, meanwhile, said the comments were fatphobic and "disrespectful to the diversity of bodies" in Rio. Hitting back, Paes insisted he isn't fatphobic and said he's only interested in the health of the city's populace. "When the patent is broken, which should happen in 2025 or 2026, it will reduce the cost enormously," the longtime mayor said, referencing the 1,000 Brazilian Reals or roughly $182 it currently costs Brazilians to access the weight loss drug. "Why not make it available to the population?" "We’re not going to give it away for vain reasons," he continued. "It’s not to make six-packs." As usual, a politician is politicking — but in Rio, the personal seems to have become political. **More on Ozempic:** *[People Are Apparently Microdosing Ozempic]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()