After , the mayor’s administration () says that it almost doubled the costs of maintaining and operating reading equipment.
Management says that, according to budget execution, R$41.7 million was committed in 2025 for the acquisition of books, renovations, purchases of inputs, payment of employees, among others. All funds are distributed between 54 libraries, 13 forests and 14 reading points.
In a note, the city hall says that R$23 million was committed in 2024 and R$20.6 million in 2023.
The budget proposal for 2026, approved by the City Council and which is still pending approval by the Executive, reserves R$50.7 million for the same item, for the maintenance and operation of public libraries.
The investment, however, is still below the needs reported to the column by an employee of the Department of Culture.
On the 7th, two men broke into the Mário de Andrade library, the second largest in the country, and fled with engravings by Candido Portinari and Henri Matisse.
Faced with this fact, Sindsep (union of workers in the municipal administration and local authorities) made a series of demands to the Department of Culture and the city hall. Among the measures, officials demand increased security and policing, investment in surveillance infrastructure, installation of lighting and an emergency button.
The category also requests the participation of employees with the city hall in the development of a safety plan that takes into account the peculiarities of each public equipment, the implementation of Cipa (Internal Commission for the Prevention of Accidents and Harassment) and safety training for all employees, in addition to additional payments for employees to work on weekends and holidays.
“Fortunately, there were no injuries, but the episode reveals the lack of security structure in one of the most important cultural facilities in the country,” says the union.
“It is not acceptable for workers to continue performing their duties in vulnerable conditions, without adequate protection against the urban violence that is growing in the city.”
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