The president of the São Paulo Association of Municipalities (APM), Marcelo Barbieri, accuses the Secretary of Government of the State of São Paulo, , of using his position to harm his candidacy for re-election to the entity.
One of the state’s main leaders and former mayor of Araraquara, Barbieri is running on December 20th against Fred Ghidoni, from the party chaired nationally by Kassab.
“Kassab is setting up the structure of his secretariat to stifle my candidacy. He keeps calling mayors and trying to embarrass those who support me. The association is not a department of his secretariat”, says Barbieri.
He was Ghidoni’s deputy in command of the APM until April, but they both broke up. At the time, Kassab’s ally left office to run in the election for mayor of Campos do Jordão, in which he ended up defeated. Now, he wants to return, displeasing the emedebista.
“I, as president since April, see my candidacy for re-election as natural”, says Barbieri.
The conflict is yet another ingredient in their accusations of using their position in the government to serve the interests of the PSD.
In recent years, the party has become the largest in number of mayors in the state, after attracting leaders from other parties.
The state has 645 municipalities, but only those that are financially in good standing with the entity have the right to vote. The royal electoral college brings together around 150 mayors.
When contacted by the Panel, Kassab did not want to respond directly to the accusations. According to him, Barbieri and Ghidoni are “two dear friends, both qualified to represent the São Paulo Association of Municipalities”.
“As a former mayor of São Paulo and former president of APM, I declared my support for Fred. But I will not get involved in the campaign,” he stated.
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