The departure of four secretaries from Belo Horizonte City Hall (PBH) was confirmed this Monday (1/4) by Mayor Fuad Noman (PSD) and Secretary of State for Government Marcelo Aro (PP).
The names were indicated by the government representative of Romeu Zema (Novo) and they presented their resignation letters today. The change comes amid the latest party accommodations aimed at municipal elections in October and was anticipated by the column Beyond the factof State of Minas.
The municipal government secretaries, Castellar Neto, leave the city hall; of Education, Roberta Rodrigues Martins; of Environment, José Reis Nogueira; and Economic Development, Fernando Campos Motta.
The departures were made official at a meeting held today at the municipal administration headquarters with the presence of Fuad, Aro and councilors who make up the state secretary’s base at the Belo Horizonte City Council (CMBH).
In a press conference after the meeting, Aro and Fuad guaranteed that the movement does not mean a political rupture and that the councilors from the so-called “Aro family” will continue as the government’s base in the Legislature.
Zema’s Government Secretary attributed the change to pressure from the PSD on Fuad and differences between the direction of his party, the PP, and the current mayor’s party.
According to him, his political group has not yet decided who it will support in the municipal elections, but support for Fuad’s reappointment remains on the discussion table.
Last week, Fuad was in Brasília with the president of Congress, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG).
A strong name in the party, the senator would have asked for Aro’s nominees to leave the BH secretariat as a counterpart to the PES support for the campaign for the re-election of the mayor of the capital of Minas Gerais.
On the 5th, the limit for party changes ends.
Fuad thanked the work of the secretaries appointed by Aro and recalled that the alliance built with the secretary had its origins in the mayor’s troubled time with the Chamber.
The arrival of the ‘Aro family’ dispelled rumors of a possible impeachment and made it possible to expand the government’s base to vote on projects in the Legislature.
“When we assumed this partnership to guarantee governability, this was done with great competence and with a lot of dedication, but at no time did we have electoral commitments. I understand that the group (of Aro) has its electoral objectives and took this decision and the It is up to me to accept it and thank you very much for the work that was done.[…] Thank you for the partnership we have formed. A partnership that, I think, does not end at this moment. It continues in a way that is not as close, but with the same effectiveness”, said the mayor.
Party pressure
“Fuad was correct and honored the agreement he had with us. But I understood that, precisely because this electoral moment is approaching, and in view of the exhaustive pressure that the mayor has been suffering, especially from the party he is in today, that we should take the step of asking for our secretary nominations to leave the administration of Mayor Fuad so that we would have more peace of mind to make our decision regarding who we are going to support for mayor in Belo Horizonte”, said Aro when justifying the move to withdraw the Executive from the capital.
The first mention came from Zema’s secretary of the pressure exerted by PSD chiefs for Fuad to break with the names he had recommended for the administration of the capital.
The mayor said that he was not coerced into making any changes and dealt naturally with the movements made by the parties with the aim of organizing themselves for the electoral dispute.
The pre-candidacy for reappointment to the position was officially launched at the end of February in an event attended by central party figures such as president Gilberto Kassab, the president of the Minas Gerais directory and state deputy Cássio Soares and the minister of Mines and Energy , Alexandre Silveira.
Still commenting on the party dynamics involving the departure of the four secretaries, Marcelo Aro highlighted that there is a divergence between the directions taken by the parties that make up his political group and that of Fuad, including mentioning the 2026 general elections.
In 2022, Aro’s PP and governor Romeu Zema sided with Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in the presidential race, while the PSD aligned itself with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Minas, having even launched Alexandre Silveira to the Senate and Alexandre Kalil to the state government as an integral part of the left-wing alliance.
“We are uncomfortable being at city hall as the election is approaching and we still don’t know if we will walk with Mayor Fuad. But other than that, everything remains the same, the councilors continue to support the government, they continue to support it. Fuad and I have had countless conversations and I have always defended him. Because I have this affection and value Fuad’s work, I always said ‘let’s go to this other side of here’. And I understand him, he has his party commitments, his commitment to a political group. But it is a political group that diverges from ours. I’m on the side of Governor Romeu Zema, Mateus Simões (vice-governor). This is my political field that often diverges from the political field that Fuad sometimes has to be in at that moment. So because of this divergence and the divergence that, I believe, will come to light in 2026, it is what makes it impossible for us to be as close as we were today”, highlighted Aro.
Base in the Chamber
The town hall meeting began around 11:30 am. Marcelo Aro entered the PBH Noble Hall leading a line that included the four secretaries who will have their names removed from the Executive starting this Tuesday (2/4), federal deputy Nely Aquino (Podemos) and councilors Professora Marli ( PP), Flávia Borja (PP), Juliano Lopes (Agir), Wilsinho da Tabu (PP), Marcos Crispim (Podemos), Cláudio Mundo Novo (PL), José Ferreira (PP) and Rubão (PP). The entire entourage accompanied Aro and Fuad in the interview given after the agreement on the changes in the secretariat.
Aro guaranteed that the Executive’s departure will not have any repercussions on votes in the Chamber in this final year of the legislature. Even without the representation of the secretaries, the representative of Zema’s political articulation and the mayor of the capital continue to have the president of the CMBH, Gabriel Azevedo (MDB), as a common opponent. The councilor is also a pre-candidate for mayor.
