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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”. It was during this second administration that Mário Kertész carried out the works designed by Lina Bo Bardi and the Rio de Janeiro architect João Filgueiras Lima, known as “Lelé”. Among others, the Tomé de Sousa Palace [pt], the current headquarters of Salvador City Hall, built in steel and glass in 14 days and inaugurated on May 16, 1986; The installation of the Fábrica de Cidades (FAEC) in an area of 140. 000 m², with the aim of producing large-scale reinforced mortar pieces for the construction of various community facilities with quality, speed and low cost, such as municipal schools built in reinforced mortar; It also created of the Official Gazette of the Municipality.

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].

Private initiative

While serving as Mayor of Salvador, Mário Kertész began his journey as a radio host, using the platform to report on his administration. He hosted a radio program to share updates on municipal projects and initiatives, aligning with the political vision that had brought him back to the Palácio Tomé de Souza for a second term. This vision aimed to bridge the gap between government and the people, symbolized by the relocation of the government headquarters to Municipal Square (Praça Tomé de Sousa), the first public square representing the three branches of government in Brazil. Through this program, Kertész established a direct line of communication with the population, broadcasting across multiple radio stations.

The growing influence of the program, however, led to threats against the broadcasting network, as most radio concessionaires feared political reprisals. At the time, Antonio Carlos Magalhães (ACM), a declared political adversary of Kertész, served as Brazil's Minister of Communications (1985–1990).

To ensure the continuity of the political project, a group led by businessman Alceu Lisboa, active in the education sector, acquired three financially struggling radio stations, which had suffered from the wave of concessions issued during the José Sarney administration.

When Kertész decided to step away from politics, effectively halting the project, Alceu Lisboa’s group lost interest in maintaining the radio stations and sold them. Subsequently, Kertész’s family acquired the stations but later divested Itaparica FM and unsuccessfully negotiated the sale of Rádio Clube to the Assembléia de Deus. The family retained Rádio Cidade, which eventually became Rádio Metrópole.

Over time, Kertész expanded his journalistic endeavors, launching new projects: Metrópole Magazine (2007), the Jornal da Metrópole, a free tabloid distributed at key locations across Salvador (2008), and even TV Metrópole, hosted on the radio station’s website. During this period, Kertész also completed his professional training as a radio broadcaster.

Jornal da Bahia

Founded and presided over by João Falcão, a communist activist, the Jornal da Bahia emerged as a voice of opposition to the dictatorship and to Antônio Carlos Magalhães (ACM). The newspaper went into decline after being sold in 1983 to ACM himself, who had long sought to shut it down. The end of the military dictatorship, coupled with its sale to its primary adversary, caused the Jornal da Bahia to lose the qualities that had once attracted and inspired its readers, further exacerbating its already precarious financial situation.

In 1990, amid the ongoing crisis, the shareholders decided to bring in an external executive. Mário Kertész was elected at a shareholders' meeting to serve as President of the Executive Board for a two-year term and was re-elected once. During his tenure, from 1990 to 1994, Kertész adopted a more popular editorial approach for the Jornal da Bahia, inspired by Notícias Populares in São Paulo. He reduced the number of pages and relocated the editorial office to the same building as Rádio Cidade to cut costs.

However, these efforts were largely undone by the economic recession that hit Brazil, marked by hyperinflation (1,200% annually) during the José Sarney administration and the monetary confiscation imposed by the Fernando Collor government. These factors ultimately led to the newspaper's closure in February 1994.

Later, the name Jornal da Bahia was repurposed by Kertész for one of the programs broadcast on Metrópole FM radio

References

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8. "Bahia já estabelece prioridade". Jornal do Brasil. 80 (248): 3. January 23, 1971.
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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
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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. Gomes, Nardele (May 16, 2016). "Com arquitetura arrojada de Lelé, Palácio Thomé de Souza completa 30 anos - Metro 1". Metro 1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on August 10, 2024. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
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24. "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.
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