Alckmin will defend transportation-related actions on TV.
In a series of PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) advertisements that began airing two days after revoking the tariff increase, the governor claims to be making "the largest investment in the sector in Latin America"; Aécio Neves, the party's pre-candidate for the presidency, takes the opportunity to criticize the federal government's actions at the country's borders.
247 – Amid a wave of popular protests, the PSDB party in São Paulo will begin releasing a series of advertisements today in which Governor Geraldo Alckmin (PSDB) claims to be making "the largest investment in public transportation in Latin America."
The first piece will air two days after the governor revokes the increase in subway and train fares in São Paulo. The governor said he will have to "tighten his belt" to compensate for expenses generated by the fare reduction.
The Secretary of Planning for the State of São Paulo, Julio Semeghini, said this Thursday (20) that he is working to deliver to the governor by this Friday (21) the list of investments that will have to be postponed or cancelled to cover the revocation of the metro and train fare increase in São Paulo.
"The governor will make an effort not to cancel projects. We are raising this issue today, and the idea is that he will make the decisions tomorrow," he told Agência Estado.
The advertisement will be shown for a week, until the 28th, and was recorded before the wave of protests for lower fares and improvements to the transportation system began.
"We will be the first state in Brazil to connect its main airports --Congonhas and Guarulhos-- to the metro and train systems. Four metro lines are already under construction and another two are on the way," says Alckmin.
Apart from the governor, the only other person to speak in the advertisements is Senator Aécio Neves (PSDB-MG), a likely candidate for President of the Republic in 2014.
In one of his appearances, he makes a connection between the actions taken by the São Paulo and Minas Gerais governments to combat crack cocaine—he governed Minas Gerais for eight years, from 2003 to 2010—and criticizes the federal government.
"The work of the states is useless if the federal government does not protect our borders, which are neglected," says the senator.