Opposition doubts Casares impeachment, claims date ‘manoeuvre’ | OneFootball

The sudden announcement by the president of São Paulo’s Deliberative Council, Olten Ayres de Abreu, who scheduled the impeachment vote of president Julio Casares for next Wednesday, the 14th, was not exactly a big surprise for the club’s political groups opposed to the current management. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Sources consulted by AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR on the night of this Tuesday (6th) indicated that Abreu, a political ally of the São Paulo president, was already expected to rush to schedule the vote within the first half of this month. The reason, according to them, is that many councilors opposed to Casares are traveling and unable to attend in person at Morumbi.

More than that, according to the notice of convocation issued by Abreu, the vote will be secret. In other words, this will allow either former allies of Casares or councilors signaling their departure from the government base to vote without hesitation for the president to remain in office.

“The secret vote is practically the final nail in the coffin for the approval (of the impeachment). They will vote for Casares to stay without being exposed, thus freeing themselves from pressure from the fans,” said a source consulted by the report.

That is clearly the intention. A councilor from Casares’ allied base confirmed that a request was made to Abreu for the vote to be secret, without disclosure of the votes. “This is for the safety of the councilors themselves. There’s no maneuver here. The atmosphere is very tense. What about those who believe in the president’s innocence? Those who trust him? They would be exposed, threatened,” he said.

Internally, among the reasons for choosing the voting mechanism (in-person and secret ballot) are to avoid problems like those that occurred during the vote on the 2026 budget at the end of December, when some councilors reported that their online votes were not counted, forcing the club to make an official statement. Besides that, the exposure of the voting spreadsheet led to councilors being virtually harassed on social media. “The atmosphere is too tense,” a source told AMT.

The final decision for the choice of voting mechanism, according to what was reported, was the statement released by Independente, the club’s largest organized supporters group, and Henrique Gomes, known as Baby, its main leader, who promised to disclose and hold accountable the names of those who voted in favor of Casares.

PESSIMISM

The process takes place after a formal request from opposition councilors to the current tricolor management, who gathered the 57 signatures required to initiate the removal of the president, as per the club’s Statute, at the end of December.

For Casares’ impeachment to proceed, at least two-thirds of the 255 São Paulo councilors (that is, about 171 favorable votes) will be needed.

With this approval, the president would already be removed from office, and the São Paulo vice president, Harry Massis Júnior, would take over.

Even so, for the removal process to be completed, Casares would still have to face a review by the general assembly of all paying members of the social club. A simple majority would seal the director’s departure.

Opponents interviewed by the report acknowledge that in the current scenario it is “almost impossible” for Casares to be impeached, as he still maintains a solid base of support both in the Council and in the social club.

Even so, the mood in the anti-Casares cell phone messaging groups was already one of victory for managing to bring the president to ‘trial’ in the club’s bodies, something unthinkable less than a year ago. The belief is that the investigations the São Paulo president is facing from authorities will inevitably lead to his departure.

SHIELDED. BUT NOT ENTIRELY

The scheduling of Casares’ impeachment vote happens on the same day that the club’s Advisory Council, mostly made up of former presidents and influential figures, advised against the removal process after an extraordinary meeting late in the afternoon.

The group, which does not have the power to decide whether or not Julio Casares leaves, decided not to recommend the president’s impeachment. Even amid various allegations and scandals involving the president’s name, the Council claimed that ‘there is no material evidence to justify a favorable opinion for the presidential impeachment,’ in a note issued to the press.

The Tricolor Advisory Council is composed of 12 members, but three were absent from today’s meeting. Present were president Julio Casares himself, Olten Ayres, Carlos Miguel Aidar, Marcelo Pupo, Ives Gandra, Leco, José Carlos Ferreira Alves, José Eduardo Mesquita Pimenta, and Paulo Amaral Vasconcelos.

For health reasons, Milton José Neves and Paulo Planet could not attend, as well as Fernando Casal de Rey, who is traveling abroad.

The vote was only advisory, since the body does not have the power to confirm Casares’ removal, and resulted in eight to one against recommending the presidential impeachment. Only the opponent José Carlos Ferreira Alves voted in favor of recommending the removal of the Tricolor president.

On Tuesday, the news that the Civil Police are investigating R$ 1.5 million received by Casares and R$ 11 million withdrawn by São Paulo’s management increased the pressure on the president even further. The inquiry indicates that he can only justify R$ 1 out of every R$ 5 received in his account.

Prior to this new leaked allegation, the reasons cited by opponents for the impeachment request were ‘reckless management,’ based on the following arguments: successive budget violations (the club’s high debt above R$ 968.2 million at the end of 2024); alleged sale of players below market value in recent windows; and alleged illegal sale of a box for a show by two club directors: Mara Casares, the president’s ex-wife, and Douglas Schwartzmanm, who was then responsible for the youth categories in Cotia (SP).

Before this scandal, however, there was another complaint against the Morumbi club involving its medical department, which was allegedly using weight loss medication for players that was not authorized by Brazilian health authorities, and which was also reportedly purchased suspiciously, according to a Federal Revenue investigation.

As AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR revealed, since Monday night (5th), Casares has been meeting with the six political groups in the club that support him politically.

At first, the tricolor president affirms, since his first conversations with allies, that he will not resign. Sources consulted by the report say the president claims that leaving the top São Paulo post would mean “admitting to a guilt he does not have.”

This response seems to have soured relations within Casares’ allied base for good. AMT found that the number of dissidents leaving the so-called ‘coalition’ has grown considerably. Even though no group has made an official announcement, the investigation shows that at least three of them are already speaking as opponents of the president.

‘Parties’ previously completely united with Casares are now showing cracks. Casares’ own group released a dubious statement, showing a certain tone of concern about the allegations. Influential figures close to Casares spoke with the president and advised him to resign.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.