Merval also sees Skaf as an outlaw.

247 - Globo columnist Merval Pereira criticizes the stance of Paulo Skaf, president of Fiesp, regarding the property tax increase advocated by Mayor Fernando Haddad (PT). According to him, Skaf is acting outside the law. Read more:

Lawless campaign

Throughout the country, there are almost daily violations of electoral rules, with authorities at various levels who are known to be candidates using the radio and television access afforded to them by their positions to prepare their campaigns. This is especially true of President Dilma. Theoretically, electoral campaigning in the streets and on the internet will be permitted on July 6th, and the radio and television campaign will begin on August 19th.

The most scandalous case is that of the president of Fiesp, Paulo Skaf, a potential candidate for governor of São Paulo, who recently bought television time to celebrate as a personal victory the court's decision to overturn the increase in the IPTU (property tax) in the city of São Paulo. The tax is municipal, and the entity that Skaf presides over is state-level, and the prohibition of the increase was also due to a lawsuit filed by the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party).

But this is of no importance whatsoever to those who want to appear to the general public as defenders of citizens against the greed of the Workers' Party mayor Fernando Haddad. Yesterday, Paulo Skaf was at the Supreme Federal Court to speak with President Joaquim Barbosa about this, since the São Paulo city government appealed to the STF after losing in local courts and the Superior Court of Justice (STJ).

These are the first movements of the election campaign unfolding before the voters, without the electoral courts taking any action. Since there are no official election campaigns yet, there is no specific legislation that can be invoked; everything will depend on the subjectivity of the electoral judges.

In Rio, there is a prosecutor trying to control pre-candidates from various parties who are violating electoral law. Vice-Governor Pezão, from the PMDB party, federal deputy Garotinho, from the PR party, and Senator Lindbergh Farias, from the PT party, each in their own way, systematically disregard the law, inaugurating public works or using their party's free airtime to boost their names in the race for state governor.

The parties and candidates know they are wrong, but they prefer to pay the negligible fine – which ranges from 5.000 to 20.000 reais – rather than stop their early election campaigning. That is, if they even pay the fine at all.