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Mário de Melo Kertész (March 21, 1944) is a Brazilian politician, teacher, business administrator, entrepreneur and broadcaster, the son of Jews, a Hungarian father and an Amazonian mother.

Biography

Early years and education

Born in Salvador, the capital of the state of Bahia, Mário Kertész is the son of an Amazonian mother and a Hungarian father of Jewish origin. Mário became a polyglot, speaking Portuguese, French, Spanish, English and Italian.

He graduated in Business Administration from the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA). He did postgraduate studies abroad, studying in Spain and France.

Political

He began his public life at the age of 22, as chief of staff to Finance Secretary Luís Sande, during the administration of the then mayor of Salvador, Antônio Carlos Magalhães, in 1967.

During Antõnio Carlos Magalhães' first term as governor of Bahia, between 1971 and 1975, Kertész, at the age of 26, was the first head of the Secretariat of Planning, Science and Technology, the body responsible for setting up the Bahia Administrative Center [pt], the Pituaçu Metropolitan Park [pt] and the first stage of the renovation of Salvador's Historic Center.

He served as Magalhães' chief of staff when the politician took over the presidency of the state-owned company Eletrobrás between 1975 and 1978. He was appointed mayor of Salvador by Magalhães, as a 'bionic mayor [pt]' - the name given to mayors appointed by allies of the Brazilian military dictatorship - in his second administration. The main works and achievements of this first administration were the creation of Limpurb (Empresa de Limpeza Urbana de Salvador), responsible for the city's garbage collection, and Transur (Companhia de Transportes Urbanos de Salvador), all in 1979. Transur was later abolished in 1997.

At the end of his term as mayor of Salvador in 1981, Mário Kertész broke with “Carlism” (the name given to the political movement that emerged in Bahia under the leadership of Antonio Carlos Magalhães) and joined the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), making his then-wife, Eliana Kertész [pt], the most voted councillor in Salvador in 1982, receiving more than 50 000 votes.

After the opening of direct elections to the mayors of the capitals with the end of the Military Dictatorship in 1985 [pt], he defeated federal deputy Marcelo Cordeiro at the party convention, becoming a candidate for mayor of Salvador. On November 15 of the same year, he was elected the first mayor of Salvador by popular vote, beating Edvaldo Brito [pt], with the support of the left parties like Democratic Labour Party (PDT) and Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), after 21 years of military rule.

During his second term, he helped to elect Waldir Pires governor of Bahia in 1986 [pt], with the support of other 'ex-Charlistas', such as then senators Luís Viana Filho and Jutahy Magalhães, then federal deputy Ruy Bacelar [pt] and the former mayor of Guanambi, Nilo Coelho [pt], his friend from youth, chosen as vice-president on the ticket of one of the leaders of the PMDB's “historic group”.

He organized the candidacy of Gilberto Gil, president of the Gregório de Mattos Foundation [pt], to succeed him in 1988 [pt], which was vetoed by governor Waldir Pires. As a result, he teamed up with communications businessman Pedro Irujo to launch the candidacy of broadcaster Fernando José [pt] for mayor of the capital, who was elected in that election.

The following year, 1989, Fernando José broke off political agreements, abandoned ongoing projects, terminated contracts, stopped work and, with the support of the A Tarde newspaper, launched a fierce campaign against Kertész. He ran again for mayor of Salvador in 1992 [pt]. He lost the election to Lídice da Mata and abandoned his political career to dedicate himself to private enterprise.

At the invitation of the PMDB, he joined the party in 2011 and was launched as a candidate for Mayor of Salvador, after 19 years away from party politics. In the 2012 elections, he only came third in the first round and broke with the PMDB, which supported the Carlist candidate ACM Neto, to support the PT candidate, Nelson Peregrino [pt].

References

1. ^ Macedo, Luciane (September 24, 2020). ""Sou branco e judeu, mas baiano pra cacete", diz Kertész". Brasil 247 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
2. Köpp, Juliana; Albinati, Mariana. "Políticas culturais de salvador na gestão Mário Kertész (1986 a 1989) - versão preliminar" (PDF). Federal University of Bahia. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 26, 2024. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
3. Sales, Edvaldo (September 12, 2023). "Mário Kertész solta o verbo contra ACM: "Fez todas as sacanagens que podia comigo"". Bnews (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on June 20, 2024. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
4. ^ ""Governo Lula melhorou muitas coisas, mas o Brasil segue dividido", diz Mário Kertész". Brasil 247 (in Brazilian Portuguese). June 1, 2024. Archived from the original on June 2, 2024. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
5. "Próximos Eventos | Mário Kertész fala sobre Mídia na Escola de Administração". Agenda UFBA. August 3, 2016. Archived from the original on December 24, 2024. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
6. ^ "Mário de Melo Kertész". Academia Baiana de Administração. Archived from the original on December 24, 2024. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
7. Gonzalez, Daniela (June 27, 2024). "Reserva de resistência: Há 50 anos enfrentando especulação imobiliária, Parque de Pituaçu vai passar por revitalização". Metro 1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on July 4, 2024. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
8. "Bahia já estabelece prioridade". Jornal do Brasil. 80 (248): 3. January 23, 1971.
9. Mendes, Mariana (December 2, 2008). "Mário Kertész aguarda confiante a cirurgia". Jornal A Tarde. Archived from the original on May 8, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
10. "Bahia espera 250 mil turistas neste verão". Jornal do Brasil. 89 (257): 18. December 21, 1979.
11. "Transur". Acervo do Ônibus na Bahia (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on December 4, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
12. Gonçalves, Roberto (November 19, 1982). "Mulher de Kertész bate recorde votos para a Câmara". Jornal do Brasil. 92 (225): 7.
13. "Leite vence as convenções do PMDB no Rio". Jornal do Brasil. 95 (91): 1. July 8, 1985.
14. Luiz Pereira Oliveira, Cloves (2024), Luiz Pereira Oliveira, Cloves; Mitchell-Walthour, Gladys Lanier; Morrison, Minion K. C (eds.), "The New Bahia Enigma: Why Has Black Rome Never Elected a Black Mayor? A Case Study of the 1985 Municipal Election Campaigns of Edivaldo Brito and Mário Kertész", Black Lives Matter in Latin America, Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, pp. 173–203, doi:10.1007/978-3-031-39904-6_7, ISBN 978-3-031-39903-9, retrieved 2024-12-24
15. Souza, Berlarmino (2013). "A conquista da Bahia - O sudoeste baiano na eleição de Waldir Pires (1986) e as disputas pela municipalidade em vitória da conquista" (PDF). Associação Nacional de História. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 5, 2024. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
16. Kertész, Mário (December 12, 2014). "Reunião em 1986, na casa de Roberto Santos, com Ulisses Guimarães, Waldir Pires e eu". Twitter. Retrieved December 12, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
17. Pitombo, João (March 30, 2019). "'Prefeito que não foi', Gilberto Gil era empossado vereador de Salvador há 30 anos". Folha de S.Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on April 17, 2024. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
18. Silva, Rodrigo (March 2, 2023). "A arte da traição: história mostra que deslealdade entre Criador e criatura marca a política baiana". Metro 1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
19. "PMDB terá candidato a prefeito em 24 capitais, diz Raupp". Folha de S. Paulo. July 7, 2011. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
20. "Mário Kértesz anuncia disposição de se filiar ao PMDB". Acorda Cidade - Portal de notícias de Feira de Santana (in Brazilian Portuguese). September 22, 2011. Archived from the original on December 24, 2024. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
21. "Mário Kertész sai do PMDB e declara apoio a Pelegrino: "É a melhor opção para Salvador"". União Juventude Socialista (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on December 24, 2024. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
22. "Mário Kertész anuncia apoio a Pelegrino e desfiliação do PMDB". iBahia (in Brazilian Portuguese). October 11, 2012. Archived from the original on December 24, 2024. Retrieved December 24, 2024.