Floods in São Paulo and the fake tourist mayor.

As happens every year, the residents of São Paulo are already preparing for the rainy season, floods, and disasters. The predictable tragedy, however, doesn't seem to bother João Doria, the "prefake" tourist, who continues his travels around the country and the world to boost his presidential ambitions. An article published in Folha last week points out that the São Paulo city hall only spent 21% of the annual budget allocated to flood protection. The creator of the "ration for the poor," who declared war on the PSDB to make his candidacy viable, isn't very concerned about his gullible voters, as the report by journalist Artur Rodrigues points out:

"On the eve of the rainy season, the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) administration has only spent 21% of the planned annual budget for drainage in São Paulo – R$ 172 million out of R$ 837 million... He will need to significantly accelerate spending in this area to reach Haddad's accumulated total for the 12 months of 2016 – a total of R$ 393 million. Before being elected, João Doria said: 'For each stream, we will revitalize it, then channel it, and create linear parks. Above them, we will have linear parks with sports courts, trees, benches, and trash cans.' In practice, the vast majority of the projects have not yet left the drawing board. When considering investments, excluding maintenance actions, Doria has spent only R$ 1 out of every R$ 10 planned."

The mayor's disregard for the plight of São Paulo residents is evident. Stream canalization projects in peripheral neighborhoods are paralyzed. The "retention basins" promised during the election campaign have become pure marketing demagoguery. Since operating expenses have barely reached half of what was projected for this year, maintenance has fallen short of expectations. "The problems caused by the rains can also be aggravated by failures in street cleaning. The street sweeping service, for example, collected 6% less garbage than the previous administration during the same period – dirt is one of the factors that clogs water drainage systems," describes the Folha article, which also includes worrying accounts from several São Paulo residents. The situation is desperate.

"Having lived for 20 years on the banks of the Moenda stream, cleaning lady Sandra Nóbrega dos Santos, 45, has become accustomed to having to rebuild her life every year. 'It rains and we lose everything. Then we get it all back, from neighbors or people who decide to donate to help,' she says, adding that when she sees the clouds darkening she takes shelter at one of her daughters' houses. She says the problem also affects her grandchildren's health. 'They keep showing up with strange lumps on their skin. It must be because of all the bugs here.' Shopkeeper Valteria Ferreira, 38, lives on the banks of another stream whose canalization was in the budget, in Jardim São Luís. 'One of the things that bothers me most is the smell. A smell that makes your house seem always dirty. It never goes away,' she says, already used to seeing the canalization promises broken."