João receives "Não Pago," who gives the meeting a zero rating: "Unprepared mayor."
"It wasn't a meeting that demonstrated progress on the issue of public transportation. There was no progress. We pointed out that the mayor must present a concrete answer and that he shouldn't hold a closed-door meeting. The least he could have done is to reinstate the fare at R$ 2,25 until he evaluates all the issues. The movement wants him to prepare a little more for the next meeting. We want a more effective position from him," says Gleidson Souza, from the Não Pago Movement; João said he will analyze all the points addressed in the meeting: "it's necessary to hear from the people responsible for the department"; a new meeting is scheduled for the 5th.
Sergipe 247 - Mayor João Alves Filho (DEM) received representatives of the Não Pago Movement this Thursday (25), who presented a series of demands regarding public transport in the capital. The meeting lasted more than two hours. According to João, some of the issues have already been discussed and answered immediately, however, other points need to be analyzed calmly. A new meeting will be held on August 5th.
"They claimed that the calculation made by our technicians was incorrect. Since I understand that everyone is prone to error, I asked them to bring to the next meeting a detailed and justified list of the points they consider to be incorrect," said the mayor.
One of the movement's members, Cleidson Carlos, stated that the meeting demonstrated the mayor's unpreparedness regarding the issue. "The term 'cursed inheritance' was the most frequently used by the mayor, always blaming previous administrations," he said in an interview with Jornal do Dia. "The 'Não Pago' (I Don't Pay) Movement demanded a satisfactory solution, considering that what the mayor presented in almost 3 hours of meetings does not guarantee any improvement for the situation of road transport workers and public transport users in Greater Aracaju. This proves that the mobilizations must continue," he emphasized.
The mayor said he supports the demonstrations and considers the protests legitimate, but condemned the acts of vandalism committed against public buildings. "I have the utmost respect for the principles of democracy, of which popular movements are a part, and I myself was once a part, but we cannot confuse or accept that these demonstrations exceed democratic limits by causing destruction," he emphasized.
João Alves pledged to analyze all the points raised by the movement and that at the next meeting he will present a written response to each of them. "Some issues require hearing from the people responsible for the department. But I immediately responded to the question about VCA's intervention, which will not be possible, since we would also be responsible for the company's liabilities, which are already in the millions. We could bankrupt the city hall, and that wouldn't be fair to the thousands of Aracaju residents," he argued.
"It wasn't a meeting that demonstrated any progress on the issue of public transportation. There was no progress. We pointed out that he must present a concrete answer and that he shouldn't hold a closed-door meeting. The least he could have done was to reinstate the fare at R$ 2,25 until he evaluates all the issues. The movement wants him to prepare a little more for the next meeting. We want a more effective position from him. We don't know yet if we will attend the next meeting," warned Gleidson Souza, who is also part of the "Não Pago" (I Don't Pay) Movement, which gave the meeting with the mayor a zero rating.
Photo: Silvio Rocha/PMA