Fed up with politics, Brazil cities swear in outsider mayors

After his swearing in, Doria, who ran on the fact that he wasn’t a politician but a successful businessman, spoke to voters’ concerns about corruption and general mismanagement by politicians. He promised a “strict adherence to ethics in public management at all levels of executive power.”

He also promised a better-run, cleaner, fairer Sao Paulo for all residents — a massive task in a city that is a symbol of the enormous inequalities found in Brazil, where a poor family might live in a hastily constructed shanty but millionaires commute by helicopter.

“I am a manager, and I will put management first for the city of Sao Paulo,” he said.

Revelations of widespread corruption throughout the past year have exacerbated an already uneasy political situation in Brazil. The last president, Dilma Rousseff, was impeached and removed from office in mid-2016 on charges she broke budget laws. Current President Michel Temer took over amid hopes he would push through reforms and rescue an economy in deep recession. But questions about Temer’s legitimacy and that of his reform agenda have dogged him since he took office. More recently, he has been accused of abusing his power — an allegation he denies.

Through it all, anger with politicians in Brazil has grown. Protests have drawn people from across the political spectrum seeking an outlet for their disgust.

Crivella faces an especially tough task in Rio, which is essentially broke and has struggled to pay police and other public servants, even as it tries to clamp down on rampant crime. Rio residents blame the economic problems on corruption, while others say the government overextended itself to host the 2016 Olympics.

In a speech Sunday, Crivella said every department would have to show that it had sufficient funds in hand before announcing new spending.

“Before this work is done, the order is the following: spending is prohibited,” he said.