Celso Roberto Pitta do Nascimento (; 29 September 1946 – 21 November 2009) was a Brazilian

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He had a Bachelor in Economics by Fluminense Federal University, master in Economics by

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

and specialist in Advanced Administration by

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Mayor

Pitta was the second

Afro-Brazilian Afro-Brazilians (; ), also known as Black Brazilians (), are Brazilians of total or predominantly Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Most multiracial Brazilians also have a range of degree of African ancestry. Brazilians whose African features are mo ...

mayor of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, after Paulo Lauro. Elected as mayor from 1997 to 2000, he succeeded Paulo Maluf, under whom he was Municipal Secretary of Finance. Pitta was a member of the PPB party at that time, and faced corruption allegations like his predecessor, most notoriously with accusations coming from his ex-wife, Nicéa Camargo. On May 26, 2000, he was ousted from office by a decision of the São Paulo State Supreme Court, and Vice Mayor Régis de Oliveira succeeded to the mayoralty. Eighteen days later the court's decision was reversed, and Pitta returned to office with Régis de Oliveira as vice mayor. In 2002 and 2006, Pitta ran for a seat in the Federal Chamber of Deputies, but was defeated both times. The biggest corruption scandal which involved Pitta's administration was called, the “''Escândalo dos Precatórios''” and concerned the issue of municipal-guaranteed bonds (''precatórios'' in Portuguese) to pay off debts resulting from judgments of claims against the city. At that time, the issue of municipal bonds for any other purpose had already been forbidden. To get around the budget limits, false ''precatórios'' were created so that bonds could be issued to get money to pay a variety of expenses.

Later life

Illegal financial operations made by Pitta were intercepted by the Federal Police during an Operation called Satiagraha, on 8 July 2008, leading to others' and the former mayor's arrest. The Satiagraha's Operation caught the former mayor illegal negotiations, between them, another ''precatóro’s'' negotiation with the liquid value of 92 million reais, more than US$170 million, at that time. Celso Pitta was indicted for money laundering and fraud, having already been convicted on two charges related to the ''precatórios'', before his arrest during the Satiagraha Operation. In November 2009, he died from

colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the Colon (anatomy), colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include Lower gastrointestinal ...

at the Hospital Sírio-Libanês in

References

External links

Biographical Entry
at '' BlackPast.org'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Pitta, Celso 1946 births 2009 deaths Brazilian politicians of African descent Deaths from cancer in São Paulo (state) Deaths from colorectal cancer in Brazil Mayors of São Paulo Politicians from Rio de Janeiro (city) Progressistas politicians Brazilian Labour Party (1981) politicians Alumni of the University of Leeds

Mayor

Later life

See also

References

External links