Fiesp: leaders question assembly against Josué – 01/19/2023 – Market

The assembly that approved the dismissal of Josué Gomes from the presidency of Fiesp (Federation of Industry of São Paulo) ran over steps foreseen by the statute of the entity, say union directors.

Starting a second plenary after the president of the entity and about 30 other union representatives had already left the Fiesp building was an “unbelievable precipitation”, through which “desperately” the opposition promoted an “illegal extension of the assembly” , evaluates Ricardo Martins, president of Sincetel (National Union of the Iron Metal Drawing and Lamination Industry).

For Paulo Camillo Pena, from the Snic (National Union of the Cement Industry), the very approval of the dismissal was a subversion of the ten-day period provided for in the statute. In his assessment, the extraordinary meeting had been convened for the president to respond to questions raised by unions. “The object of the summons was covered,” he says.

Both Pena and Martins were no longer at Fiesp when the dismissal decision was taken. The first was at home when the news came. The second, heard on the radio, in traffic.

“There were five or six delegates there who were prepared for Joshua’s downfall. You see clearly that it was the letter [pela democracia, divulgada no ano passado], which was not a letter from Fiesp, it was a letter from different entities. It’s not fair to say that this constitutes a serious fault”, says Martins. “Everything was prepared, they asked incessantly for this to be put to the vote.”

The letter he refers to is the entities’ manifesto, read in an act at the USP Faculty of Law on August 11 of last year. The involvement of the president of Fiesp with this letter led to the release, on Wednesday (18), of a note of solidarity from members of the committee that organized the act.

The dismissal of Josué Gomes was analyzed by 50 union delegates, of which 47 were in favor of the proposal. Around 2:30 pm, when the extraordinary assembly started, around 86 representatives from 80 unions were present and they got to vote whether they consider Josué Gomes’ arguments acceptable or not.

The president of Sincetel does not consider himself an ally of Josué Gomes. In the elections held in 2021, he tried to make an opposition ticket possible, without success. Josué Gomes was elected with 97% of the votes.

He defends, however, that the fight is a waste of time, at a delicate moment for the industry. “This group is blind to the point of not realizing how much this exposure [na imprensa] is bad. It’s a shame,” he says.

Paulo Camillo Pena says that the situation is regrettable for the industry. “We have so many issues to discuss, a tax reform, deindustrialization. And what you see is a discussion like that, which only weakens the entity”, he says.

Pena recalls that, on the same day, in the morning, Fiesp received Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) vice-president and minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services during a board meeting and later at lunch. “He spoke of the IPI, of tax reform. We pay 45% of taxes, unevenly in relation to other sectors. This is what needs to be discussed. The moment is absolutely inappropriate.”

For Pena, all the questions raised by the unions that asked for the assembly to take place are viable issues to be resolved through negotiation. “The big loser today is the Brazilian industry, which is faced with the inability to seek convergence.”

What happens now at Fiesp

Minutes from Monday’s meeting still need to be notarized. For union leaders who consider the dismissal vote valid, based on the registration Josué Gomes would no longer be president of Fiesp.

The federation’s bylaws provide that the successor is chosen by the board within 30 days of dismissal. This new president is chosen from among the three numbered vice-presidents, as the first, second and third vice-presidents are called – Rafael Cervone Neto, Dan Ioschpe and Marcelo Campos Ometto. Until the holding of the meeting that would decide for one of the three, the oldest vice-president remains in the presidency.

This Thursday, Fiesp made its first statement on the subject. It released a note in which it states that Josué Gomes is the president of the entity and is carrying out his duties, according to the statute.

Since the crisis between the current president and union leaders dissatisfied with his management went beyond the limits of the building on Avenida Paulista, in São Paulo, Fiesp had not yet made any comment.

Leaders linked to the opposition to the current president consider, as early as Monday night, the possibility of the case being judicialized due to the quorum at the time of the vote and because the president had already left. For some, however, the decision was a form of pressure against the leader. During the assembly, one of those present asked for the floor to inform Josué that he too could resign.