A mayoress has gone from a handful of followers to over a million after an angry backlash from some locals about her showing off her toned body in a skimpy bikini.

Patricia Alencar was re-elected as mayor of Marituba, in Brazil, with over 70 per cent of votes in 2024 while promising stability for the town's 100,000 residents.

She is a successful local businesswoman who moved from her hometown of Bodoco to Marituba 16 years ago where she started selling plastic utensils at street markets.

Her popularity at the polls, however, was recently placed under threat during the second term after online criticism of the video she posted on Instagram dancing in her bedroom in a beige bikini.

One user wrote: "As a voter, I expect a more appropriate stance from those who run my municipality."

Patricia Alencar poses in undated photo. The mayor of Marituba, Brazil, was criticised for the bikini post. Note: Private photo taken from social media. (@patricialencar/Newsflash/NX)

Another said: "This isn’t about moralism, but about responsibility when it comes to public image. The role demands a certain decorum, even outside the office."

In the face of voters complaining that the video undermined the "expected conduct" of a public figure, she hit back saying: "Unfortunately, a woman's body bothers people more than corruption or inefficiency."

Patricia Alencar poses in undated photo. The mayor of Marituba, Brazil, was criticised for the bikini post. Note: Picture is a screenshot from video. (@patricialencar/Newsflash/NX)

She defended her right to post whatever she wants and unexpectedly became even more popular as she shot up to 1.2 million Instagram followers within just days.

Ironically, that is 20 times the number of followers of the official account of the City of Marituba where she is the mayor.

Alencar, 37, was first elected in 2020 before being re-elected in 2024 and has been actively using social media to promote her administration’s initiatives and engage with the public.

(Simona Kitanovska / newsX)