Govenor Doria appoints ex-Chamber president Rodrigo Maia to São Paulo secretariat

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – São Paulo Governor João Doria (PSDB) appointed federal deputy Rodrigo Maia (no party RJ) as secretary for projects and strategic actions in the São Paulo administration, the state government announced in a statement.

In May, Maia was expelled from the center right Democrats (DEM) party after a majority of the party’s congressmembers supported Arthur Lira (PP-AL) to succeed Maia as president of the Chamber of Deputies. The deputy from Rio de Janeiro supported the candidacy of Baleia Rossi (MDB-SP).

After publicly calling DEM party president ACM Neto (BA) an “opportunist” and “without character”, the party decided to expel Maia. The deputy credits the former Salvador mayor with supporting President Jair Bolsonaro-backed candidate Lira, elected president of the Chamber of Deputies.

After that incident, Doria invited Maia to join PSDB,  becoming the party’s pre-candidate for the São Paulo state government. Doria, who could run for re-election, will participate in the primaries determining the party’s candidate for the presidency next year.

Maia, in turn, has been linked to a possible entry into the PSD (Social Democratic Party), the party that received Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes, who also left DEM.

The São Paulo government’s announcement said that Maia would be responsible for “streamlining privatization projects, accelerating public-private partnerships and ongoing concessions in his new position.”

“Rodrigo Maia’s experience before Parliament has strengthened in him the ability to effectively and credibly conduct dialogue with governments, civil society, and the productive sector. All the reforms approved under his leadership have only been possible through dialogue, a sense of urgency, and the strategic vision of someone who knows what is really important for the country,” Doria said in the statement.