The mayor of Sao Paulo, Bruno Covas, died on Sunday May 16, according to a statement from the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital, where he was being treated in Sao Paulo. At the age of 41, he succumbed to cancer of the digestive system, which he had suffered from since 2019.
On Friday, the hospital said he was in clinical condition “Irreversible” as a result of her cancer getting worse. “Mayor Bruno Covas continues to be treated at the Syro-Lebanese Hospital, receiving analgesic and sedative drugs. The clinical picture is considered irreversible by the medical team “, had drawn up the medical bulletin, distributed by the establishment.
Mr Covas had been hospitalized on May 2 after detecting stomach bleeding during previous tests to continue chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Faced with the worsening of his physical condition, the city councilor, included in the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (center right), had asked for a withdrawal of thirty days to be “Totally dedicate” to his care. “My body demands that I devote more time to the treatment, which is entering a very severe phase”, did he have posted on Twitter.
The news had a huge echo on social networks where thousands of people immediately expressed their condolences and solidarity with his family, in particular with his son Tomas, 15 years old. “Thank you to Bruno Covas for sharing with all of us so much affection and dedication”, said the governor of Sao Paulo, João Doria, for whom Mr. Covas had been deputy.
Reelected in November with 60% of the vote
This lawyer by training benefited from an image of moderate manager which contrasts with the great polarization of Brazilian politics. He was first elected federal deputy in 2014, before becoming Mr. Doria’s deputy in 2016. He finally took the place of mayor of Sao Paulo, in April 2018, after the resignation of the elected councilor. Governor of the State of Sao Paulo.
Despite the illness, he continued to serve as mayor of the most populous city in Brazil (12.3 million inhabitants) and faced the crisis caused by the coronavirus epidemic, which made nearly 29,000 dead in Sao Paulo.
Bruno Covas had contracted Covid-19 in August 2020, and after having recovered from it, was reelected in November in the second round of municipal elections, with nearly 60% of the vote, against the representative of the left, Guilherme Boulos. His deputy, Ricardo Nunes, becomes interim mayor of Sao Paulo, until the end of the current mandate, in early 2025.