The mayor of São Paulo, Bruno Covas (PSDB), re-elected for a new mandate that begins in 2021, has sanctioned a 47% increase of his own salary.
The new amount, R$ 35,462.00 (US$ 6. 696) , will be effective as of January 2022. Covas previously earned R$ 24,175.55 ( US$ 4.561) monthly.
In addition to the mayor's salary, law number 17.543, of December 23 /2020, also establishes new salaries for the vice mayor (from R $ 21.7 thousand (US$ 4.097) to R$ 31,915.80 (US$ 6.025) and for the municipal secretaries (from R $ 19,340, 40 (US$ 3.652) to R $ 30,142.70 ( US$ 5.692).
During the voting session at the Chamber, the project received criticism from some city councilors, who argued that it was not the appropriate moment to present proposals for readjustment, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
They recalled that councilors had cut office budgets and wages themselves by 30%.
The readjustment of the mayor's salary alters the salary cap for municipal employees and, thus, is expected to generate a cascading effect, increasing salaries of some categories.
When questioned, the city hall stated that the salary cap of the municipality "has been out of date since 2012, the year when the last correction took place".
Translated by Cassy Dias