Champion of fuel spending in the Legislative Assembly of São Paulo (Alesp), deputy Sebastião Santos (Republicans) has spent BRL 338,000 at gas stations since the start of the current legislature, in 2023.
The amount would allow for 442 round trips between São Paulo and Rosana, in the far west of São Paulo, the city farthest from the state capital, 745 km away.
Santos spent six times more than the average of Alesp deputies, today at R$57,000, and R$80,000 more than the second place in the ranking, Maria Lúcia Amary (PSDB).
An evangelical pastor and ally of Governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), Santos is serving his fourth term in the House.
According to calculations, the R$338,000 would be enough to buy 55,000 liters of gasoline (at R$6.17), enough to travel 658,000 km with a car traveling at 12 km/l. This distance is equivalent to 16 revolutions around the Earth.
Increased expenses
This year, the MP increased his fuel spending by 38%, from R$101,500 in 2024 to R$140,300. In the first year of the mandate, expenses amounted to R$96,800.
Santos got his best vote in Ribeirão Preto, which gave him 7,000 votes out of more than 104,000. If the deputy wanted, he could go and return every day inside the city with that amount of fuel.
The parliamentarian presented invoices for 374 gas stations. Of the total, R$99,000 was spent at the same place, Auto Posto Ceci, in Planalto Paulista, about 20 minutes from Alesp. Shortly after, two positions arrived in Barretos, one of the deputy’s political bases, with around R$35,000.
The MP spends R$5,900 per month on vehicle rental. Alesp’s system, however, does not specify how many and which vehicles were rented.
Podium
MPs have R$44,000 per month to spend on expenses such as fuel, vehicle rental, advertising, among others. Since 2023, more than 100 deputies who are or have worked for Alesp have spent R$5.8 million on gasoline, which represents 6% of the 94 million spent during the period.
In the case of Santos, fuel expenses represented 27% of the total of R$1.25 million.
On the podium of Alesp’s fuel expenses, besides Sebastião Santos and Maria Lúcia Amary, who spent R$257,000, is MP Mauro Bragato (PSDB), with R$253,000.
What MPs say
The toucan was the only one of the three parliamentarians to answer questions in the report.
Bragato said he is one of the few deputies who lives in the region where he works, in this case Presidente Prudente.
“Between the capital and the region, we travel on average more than 1,500 km per week, not counting internal trips between cities in the interior. These are not personal trips, but part of the job: visiting the cities, listening to the population, monitoring and inspecting the works, discussing improvements with mayors, councilors and local leaders. It is this active presence that guarantees good decisions that have an impact on people’s lives,” he said.
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