Bolsonaro ‘Turned His Back on São Paulo’, Says City Mayor

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The current mayor, and candidate for re-election in São Paulo, Bruno Covas, used Estadão’s podium for the 2020 elections on Thursday, October 15th, to nationalize his campaign and criticize the drop in the transfer of federal funds by the Jair Bolsonaro government to the São Paulo capital.

Covas said that Bolsonaro has “turned his back on the city,” and that the President should explain the decline in sending resources. The statement also served as criticism to his main competitor in the dispute, federal Deputy Celso Russomano, who is endorsed by the President.

“The President could seize this opportunity, as he is dedicated and focused on Celso Russomanno’s campaign, to explain why he has reduced voluntary transfers to the city of São Paulo by 97 percent when comparing the last year of the Temer management with the year 2020,” Covas told Estadão journalists.

“He could explain why he turned his back on the city of São Paulo over these two years, and his candidate (Russomano) can explain why, over these two years, he hasn’t helped the city of São Paulo to seek these funds that have been reduced by the federal administration,” said the Mayor.

However, he said that despite the drop in voluntary resources, the City raised a total of R$2.5 billion (US$500 million) from the state and federal governments to tackle the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Covas also refrained from classifying the drop in transfers as a “deliberate boycott”, leaving the viewers to decide. “You may classify whatever this is,” he said.

Asked about the absence of Governor João Doria in parts of his political propaganda, he said that Doria should still appear in the campaign videos to show works the municipal administration has done together with the state government. “I have no problem showing people who support me, I don’t hide my supporters.”

Source: Estadão Conteúdo