Tarcísio omits serial events from the SP Government agenda – 08/20/2023 – Power

Someone who is guided only by the official agenda of the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), will not know about his meetings with his political godfather, former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), or with central figures like Senator Ciro Walnut (PP).

This is because, despite having taken over with a speech favorable to transparency, Bolsonarist Tarcísio omits from his agenda political meetings with allies, as well as part of the interviews with communication vehicles.

In addition, the day-to-day running of its secretariat is an open question, since a good part of it does not disclose any agenda.

Experts heard by Sheet state that the legislation provides for the disclosure of the activities of the authorities, although there is no express mention of the agenda.

The Tarcísio administration has among its flags the regulation of the matter at the state level —which has not been done so far. The government claims that it publishes the governor’s commitments, but that changes may occur throughout the day, with unforeseen meetings.

An example of omission took place on the 7th, when Tarcísio accompanied Bolsonaro to a meeting with the mayor of São Paulo Ricardo Nunes (MDB), in yet another step of rapprochement between the former president and the chief executive of São Paulo, with a view to the 2024 elections. .

On that day, the governor’s official commitments on the agenda were just the opening of a congress and the so-called internal dispatches.

Last week, amid rumors about Tarcísio’s possible departure from the Republicans, he had breakfast with the president of the PP, senator Ciro Nogueira.

The record appeared on the parliamentarian’s social networks, but went blank on the governor’s list of commitments — a situation similar to that of his meeting with federal deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG).

On July 6, Tarcísio and Bolsonaro had a public disagreement during the PL meeting to discuss the party’s position on tax reform. The event became news all over the country, but on the government website, there is no commitment from the governor that day.

The governor also erratically announces commitments to the media, a practice among government officials. On the 9th, for example, there was no mention of the Flow podcast interview.

Currently, there is no state regulation on the subject. However, experts say, the Access to Information Law (LAI) provides for the disclosure of the authorities’ activities.

For Marina Atoji, director of programs at Transparência Brasil, it is not up to the government to adopt selectivity about what it will disclose so as not to leave society in the dark about how it spends its time.

“You don’t need to disclose when you go to the doctor, but if you are meeting public and politically exposed people, it has to be disclosed actively and in advance”, she says.

Lawyer Bruno Morassutti, co-founder of Sejam Sabendo, an independent data agency specializing in LAI, adds that, if there is a case of secrecy, this must also be informed in the agenda.

“In the case of secrecy, it’s not that we don’t know who the meeting was with, it may be that eventually we don’t know the content of the meeting”, he says.

Morassutti says that disclosure is good for the ruler himself, as it shows that he has no reason to hide his commitments.

In the federal government, there is an official policy with rules for disclosing agendas, with the right to a panel of the CGU (Controladoria Geral da União) with statistics on the meetings. In the City Hall of São Paulo, there is also disclosure of commitments in a more detailed way than that of the Palácio dos Bandeirantes.

Like the federal government, in an anti-corruption program, the Tarcísio administration waves the flag of transparency by promising to regulate agendas, the participation of agents in hearings and the granting of hospitality by a private agent.

The decree on the subject has not yet been issued and, for now, what we see are setbacks in this regard.

The report found, for example, commitments from the Secretary of Government of the last administration, a position that belonged to former Governor Rodrigo Garcia (PSDB). This year, under Gilberto Kassab (PSD), the data is not on the website.

The website of the Department of Education even has a space for diaries, but the data was not filled in. With this, it is impossible to know the day to day of the holder of the folder, Renato Feder, today involved in questioning of conflict of interest due to his connection with the company Multilaser, which has a contract with the government.

Some secretaries make the task of external control of their activities as difficult as possible.

The report requested, via the Access to Information Law, the agenda of the secretary of Policies for Women, Sonaira Fernandes, in February. The folder ignored the requests and appeals for months, and the data only arrived in May, via the General Ombudsman.

Not all, however, adopt this criterion. The Secretary of the Civil House, Arthur Lima, divulges a complete agenda, with a search system. On Tuesday (15), he received state deputies Alex Madureira, Dani Alonso and Delegate Graciela, all from the PL.

Questioned, the government cited unforeseen meetings.

“The Government of SP, striving for the transparency of information and its actions, publishes the commitments of Governor Tarcísio de Freitas daily on its official website. However, it is important to emphasize that the dynamics of the agenda can lead to changes during the day, such as unforeseen meetings and commitments that may arise given the nature of the role of governor”, he says, in a note.

The administration also points out that the federal law on agendas refers only to public agents in that sphere of power.