The mayor () and the former secretary of Mobility and Traffic had a disagreement last week regarding changes to the concession contract for the in . Days later, Barbosa was dismissed.
According to the Panel, the emedebista told the secretary that he had to sign a contract rebalancing agreement requested by the concessionaire Estapar, but Barbosa replied that he did not feel comfortable doing so and that the topic required more study. The conversation then became tense, and the secretary was uncomfortable with the tone adopted by the mayor.
Barbosa ended up being fired on November 6th. The former secretary is also currently undergoing health treatment, which also contributed to his departure.
People close to the former secretary claim that the refusal to sign the document was linked to the fear that opponents of Nunes would take legal action and the possible consequences would focus on him.
On the mayor’s side, the assessment is that Barbosa’s signature would only be a protocol step in the process and that he created difficulties only as a strategy to ensure that his political group maintains influence in municipal management.
He was nominated for the position by (União Brasil), president of . With his departure, Leite would nominate his replacement and maintain the portfolio under his influence during Nunes’ second term.
The mayor, however, does not want to define the new secretaries before talking to all parties and hopes that Leite will nominate someone who can be replaced in 2024.
The contract to operate the capital’s rotating parking service was signed in 2020, with . The following year, Estapar requested financial rebalancing, arguing that the Covid-19 pandemic would have harmed the concession’s income.
The Nunes administration is in an advanced stage of approving this change. According to those involved, an extension of the concession duration must occur so that Estapar can achieve an adequate return, following the initial projections of the contract.
In a note, the city hall states that “there is no relationship between the dismissal and the formal signature of an administrative process.”
“All processes are previously submitted to the legal department and, only after being fully in line with the analyses, are they forwarded in a protocolary manner by the department”, he adds.
Estapar, in turn, says that “the economic-financial rebalancing is pertinent due to the imbalance that occurred during the execution of the concession contract, and the process necessary for this analysis is underway, following the contractual procedure established for this purpose.”
When contacted by the Panel, Barbosa did not want to speak.
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