The re-elected mayor of São Paulo, Ricardo Nunes, and the vice-mayor, Mello Araújo, received diplomas late this Thursday morning (19) in a ceremony that took place in the auditorium of the Memorial da América Latina, in Barra Funda, west zone from São Paulo. The 55 councilors elected and re-elected by the city for the next legislature were also certified.
The ceremony was commanded by the electoral authorities, the president of the municipality’s Electoral Apuradora e Totalizadora Board, judge Antonio Maria Patiño Zorz, and the president of the Regional Electoral Court of São Paulo (TRE-SP), judge Silmar Fernandes. The governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, and the former president of the Republic Michel Temer also participated in the ceremony.
Not all elected councilors participated in the ceremony: 51 of the 55 elected received their diplomas in person. Absence, however, does not generate any burden on those absent, since the ceremony has a ceremonial character. The vice mayor also did not attend the ceremony.
“This is one of the most significant moments of our democracy: the graduation of those elected in this capital. Diplomating is not just a formal act. It symbolizes the realization of the popular desire, the will of a people that is expressed through one of the most fundamental rights of citizenship, the right to vote and to be voted for”, said the president of TRE-SP. “This is the time to renew our commitment to the people of São Paulo. The position to which they were elected is not a privilege, but a great responsibility. Each of those elected received, through their vote, a delegation of trust, which requires an ethical, transparent stance committed to the well-being of society. In your hands will be the power to transform lives”, added Fernandes
The diploma is a formal act that concludes the electoral process and certifies that the candidate is able to assume his position from next year. It is carried out by the Electoral Court after the conclusion of the election and the processing of the results, and is an essential requirement for taking office.
“This is an important milestone for strengthening what is contained in the Federal Constitution and which confirms that we are all part of a Democratic Rule of Law”, said Zorz. “This is the completion of the electoral process and the recognition of the trust of the voters of São Paulo Paulo who, through voting, asserted a precious value in our democracy, which is freedom of choice”.
He recalled that, recently, the Electoral Court has been the target of several attacks and disinformation, which seek to discredit the ballot boxes and the electoral process. “To those who try to discredit our system, I say that the Brazilian system is one of the most transparent and safe in the world”, said Zors, drawing applause from the public present at the event.
Mayor
After the ceremony, Mayor Ricardo Nunes spoke to the press. “Today is a very important day, the completion of the electoral process, in which the electoral justice certifies the mayor, the vice-mayor and the councilors elected within the process that is the culmination of our democracy, which is the result of the polls, the election result. I am very happy to be able to graduate today, complete this Electoral Court process and now wait for the 1st for the official inauguration and continue my mandate, he said.
To journalists, Nunes indicated that there should be an adjustment in bus transport in the capital at the beginning of next year, but stated that this increase should not exceed R$5, the amount currently charged for transport by rail (Metro and train) . Today, a bus ticket costs R$4.40 in the capital. “I think the probability is very small [de ser um valor superior a R$ 5]”, said the mayor.
According to him, the increase in transport will be necessary because of the current economic scenario. “I haven’t made the transport correction for four years in a major effort regarding the issue of encouraging public transport and encouraging individual transport. But there is an aggravating factor in this process, which is the issue of the country’s economy. When you have a dollar exploding above R$6, this impacts diesel. When you have inflation that will be above the target, we have problems regarding the issue of fares and maintaining transport”, he said.
“What our team is analyzing today, in great detail, are these bad signals from the market regarding 2025, inflation and the increase in the dollar. If the economy improved and there was no risk of inflation, I could even hammer here that there would be no tariff increase. But with this bad national economic scenario, [terá aumento] but there will certainly not be a real increase, under any circumstances”, he added.
After the diploma, the next step will be the inauguration ceremony, scheduled to take place on January 1st, when the mandates that end in December 2028 begin.
