São Paulo Mayor Creates 'Fine' for Commissioners Who Arrive Late at Meetings

01/05/2017 - 10h39

The new mayor of São Paulo, João Doria (PSDB), created a "fine" for the municipal commissioners who arrive late at meetings.

On Monday, January 2, the second day of the Doria administration, Soninha Francine, the commissioner of the Social Assistance and Development Department, arrived 40 minutes late for an urban cleaning event. On that day, Mayor Doria and other secretaries dressed as street-sweepers - Francine said she had lost track of time.

The "Soninha Francine law" will work as follows: if a commissioner is up to 15 minutes late, he will have to pay a R$ 200 "fine." Doria says that if a commissioner is more than 15 minutes late, he will have to pay R$ 400.

The amount raised with the "fines" will go to a fund managed by Patrícia Bezerra, the commissioner of the Active Citizenship and Human Rights Department. Later, it will be transferred to charity institutions.

"It is intended as something ludic, but I demand respect for our meetings. We had our second meeting with all the commissioners today. And nobody was late for it. Nobody wanted to risk paying the 'fine,'" said Doria.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

Read the article in the original language