Julio Casares was preventively removed from the presidency of São Paulo on Friday night (16). With 188 votes, 45 against and two blank votes, the Deliberative Council came together in a hybrid meeting and was in favor of impeaching the president. Vice-president Harry Massis Júnior, aged 80, takes office immediately.
Casares, suspected of committing financial irregularities in charge of the São Paulo tricolor, will remain out of the presidency until the impeachment is voted on at the General Assembly among the club’s members. Voting must take place within a maximum of 30 days.
170 votes were needed for the president to be impeached, a number that represents two thirds of São Paulo’s 254 councilors. If the advisors did not reach this goal, the leader would remain in power. The meeting took place in a hybrid format and in total, 223 councilors participated, 168 in person, at the headquarters, at Morumbi Stadium and 55 online. The vote was secret.
Protests called by the club’s two main organized fans also took place around Morumbi. The demonstrations were against Casares, but they also focused on Mara Casares, the director’s ex-wife and former director of women’s, cultural and events at São Paulo, and Douglas Schwartzmann, former assistant director of youth football at Tricolor.
