Época: ACM Neto resurrects the DEM and renews Carlism

Bahia 247

A publication on the website of Época magazine provides a true X-ray of the state of neglect in which Salvador finds itself and presents the newly inaugurated mayor, ACM Neto, of the Democrats (DEM), as the great hope for solving the problems.

While highlighting the dilapidated state of Brazil's first capital, the article points to the expectations of the population and the DEM party regarding the young 34-year-old mayor. According to Época magazine, ACM Neto brings to the "almost extinct" DEM party the hope of resurrection and a return to prominence in Brazilian politics.

Reporters Ângela Pinho and Vinícius Gorczeski also say that ACM Neto's victory brings to light "a renewed version of Carlism, a political force that seemed defeated." Below is the full article.

With a new mayor, Salvador hopes for change.

It's Carnival in Salvador. Until Ash Wednesday, street parties and electric trios gather an estimated 2 million people across about 25 kilometers of the city. The festival lasts seven days, during which the capital of Bahia is celebrated with samba, axé, and whatever else comes along. Away from the street parties, the city changes its tone. It lives the poetry of despondency, more specifically the spirit of the poem "Triste Bahia" (Sad Bahia), by the Baroque poet Gregório de Matos (1636-1696). Rarely have words like "abandonment," "decadence," and "degradation" been so frequently uttered in the city. Rarely has the need to "rescue the pride" of Salvador's inhabitants been proclaimed so strongly.

Salvador has a new mayor. ACM Neto, from the Democrats party, who took office just over a month ago, is not immune to negativity. "The city has hit rock bottom," he says. Salvador faces all sorts of problems: rising crime, traffic jams, a degraded landscape, and numerous social challenges. The chaos helped bring a renewed version of Carlism to the mayor's office, a political force that seemed defeated. The DEM party, which was threatened with extinction, received a new chance at the hands of ACM Neto. As his name suggests, he carries the blood of Antônio Carlos Magalhães (1927-2007), a kind of lifelong leader of Bahia since his appointment as mayor of Salvador in 1967, during the military regime. ACM became a senator, his career declined, and today, the three initials of his name inspire the young mayor, who is 34 years old.

Salvador under ACM Neto is a different city from that of his grandfather – and a very unhappy one. According to a survey commissioned by the organization Nossa Salvador, 44% of residents believe the quality of life worsened in 2012. "Salvador is plagued by ugliness. Urbanistic, architectural, and social," wrote Caetano Veloso, explaining his support for ACM Neto in an article last year in the newspaper O Globo. Dirt has accumulated in the streets. Historical buildings are crumbling. Crack cocaine has spread. The beachfront has been abandoned since a court decision demolished beach kiosks three years ago. Beachgoers have to bring their own food and drinks or resort to unlicensed vendors. Revitalization projects have remained on paper. Traffic is considered "terrible" by 90% of residents, and the subway – with construction halted for over ten years – doesn't help. Its 6 kilometers of lines are still not operational.

Crime has also increased. According to Datasus, the database of the Ministry of Health, Salvador is the Brazilian city with the highest number of homicides in the country. More than São Paulo, whose population is more than four times that. According to the annual study "Map of Violence," from 2000 to 2010 the capital of Bahia went from 25th to seventh position on the list of the most violent capitals in the country. With the police strike in 2012, the situation even affected tourism. "In the last eight years, we have had an indifferent city hall. The city was abandoned," says Carlos Alberto da Costa Gomes, a researcher at the Public Security Observatory of Bahia. For him, the violence is the result of errors by the city hall and the state government, since 2007 in the hands of the Workers' Party member Jaques Wagner.

Municipal authorities are negligent in the face of social problems, says Gomes, and the state is at fault for its understaffed and disorganized police forces.

Former mayor João Henrique left office with a 68% disapproval rating. During his two terms, from 2004 to 2012, he was affiliated with the PDT, then the PMDB, and finally the PP. He even had the support of the PT at one point. In the 2008 election, he was supported by ACM Neto in the second round, and in 2012, he returned the favor. He was already unpopular. "We received the city in a state of administrative and financial chaos," says ACM Neto. According to him, "public services are in terrible condition." Soon after taking office, he froze 25% of the budget allocated for municipal investments, suspended payments from the previous administration, and cut 20% of appointed positions. After Carnival, he promises to announce measures to increase tax revenue. According to ACM Neto, only 650 people are registered for property tax (IPTU), out of an estimated 1 million taxpayers who should be paying the tax. "The medicine at the beginning will be very bitter, but it's what will save the patient."

ACM Neto took office younger than his grandfather, who was mayor at 39. He deals with the family legacy in a dubious way. He placed a political heir of ACM, former governor Paulo Souto, to head his transition team at the end of last year. However, he appointed a cabinet full of new names. He knows that many will always compare him to his grandfather, especially his opponents. "It's a project that represents a family oligarchy with extremely powerful business interests," says Jonas Neres, president of the PT in Bahia. ACM Neto repeats a now-traditional mantra: he promises to copy his grandfather only in what he considers to have been good. If he manages to be the savior the city dreams of, he will go down in history. In the history of his family, his party, and Bahia.