The mayor of São Paulo, Ricardo Nunes (MDB)announced the lawyer Angela Gandra as the new municipal secretary of International Relations. She will take office at the beginning of the emedebista’s second term, in January.
Since last Monday (23), Nunes has announced changes in the secretariat, relocating allies to open more space for Bolsonarism and members of the PL, the former president’s party Jair Bolsonaroin his management.
Who is the new secretary
Daughter of jurist Ives Gandra Martins, Angela graduated in Law from the University of São Paulo (USP). She also has a master’s and doctorate in Philosophy of Law from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), having worked at Harvard University as a visiting researcher.
When announcing the lawyer, Nunes highlighted that Angela speaks seven languages and has a “very good relationship with the world”.
From 2019 to 2022, Angela Gandra was national secretary for the Family at the Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights, during Bolsonaro’s administration. At the time, she was subordinate to the then minister Damares Alves (Republicans), now a senator from Paraná, who took her to the position due to her conservative positions.
Angela gained prominence in 2018 when she represented the Union of Catholic Jurists of São Paulo in a hearing at the Federal Supreme Court (STF) on the decriminalization of abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy. At the time, he compared decriminalization to what he called “legal abortion”, drawing Damares’ attention.
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During the Bolsonaro government, Angela even attracted the attention of the international press when she visited Poland, where she defended the ban on abortion. The visit took place amid protests in the country for the decriminalization of the practice, after a decision by the Polish Constitutional Court to tighten restrictions on the procedure. Catholic like her father, her family has a connection with Opus Dei, an institution linked to the Catholic Church known for defending authoritarian governments, generally on the extreme right.
Angela Gandra is also a professor at Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, legal manager at Faculdade Evangélica de São Paulo (FAESP) and partner at the Gandra Martins office, working in Constitutional, Tax and Corporate Law. Furthermore, he is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Philosophy and the São Paulo Academy of Legal Letters.
MDB loses space
With the appointment of the lawyer, Nunes’ party will lose another secretary. The current holder of the portfolio, former deputy Ricardo Gomyde (MDB), will leave the position, which he has held since July 2024 after a sudden change in command of the portfolio.
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Gomyde replaced Aldo Rebelo (MDB), who led the secretariat briefly after Marta Suplicy left. Marta, then a member of the MDB, left the government to return to the PT and be Guilherme Boulos’ (PSOL) vice-president in the race for mayor.
(With Estadão Content)
