Romeu Tuma on statute reform vote, backs General Assembly call | OneFootball

Corinthians’ Deliberative Council has concluded another stage in the discussion over reforming the club’s bylaws. After the vote held within the body, the matter is expected to move on for review by the General Assembly of members. After the meeting, Deliberative Council president Romeu Tuma Jr. spoke to the press about the progress of the process, commented on disagreements involving the vote, and assessed the impact of the changes under debate.

At the start of the interview, Romeu said that, although he disagreed with some of the points discussed during the session, he believes the overall outcome was positive. “I think that, although I disagree with some things, for example, the issue of the base text, we had already been saying for a long time that issues with three alternatives should have the two most-voted options decided by the General Assembly. Especially because there is nothing in the bylaws saying that the Council has to vote on or decide what does or does not go to the General Assembly.”

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Next, the official explained how he interprets the role of the Deliberative Council within the process of changing Corinthians’ bylaws and stressed that, in his view, the final decision should come from the members.

“On the matter of bylaw reform, the bylaws are very clear. Article 45 says that the General Assembly is the one that decides. The Council has to acknowledge the need to amend the bylaws, and that has already been acknowledged twice unanimously. A committee is formed, it does the work, receives all the proposals, amendments, and so on, and then the base text goes to the General Assembly.”

Romeu also recalled the period in which the proposal was drafted and highlighted the participation of different sectors of the club during the process.

“That stage was completed. It was more than two years of work. I think Corinthians has never had a proposal as democratic as this one, with the participation of countless stakeholders.”

The Deliberative Council president also said that the possibility of members not being able to decide on certain issues is frustrating.

“So, from that standpoint, it is frustrating not to let the member, who is the highest authority, the main authority of the club, decide on this. I still believe that will happen.”

Commenting on Corinthians’ political and administrative situation, Romeu described the club’s current moment as serious and said that reforming the bylaws is necessary to avoid new internal problems.

“At the same time, we are experiencing a moral, financial and ethical crisis unlike anything in Corinthians’ history. And we are trying to save the club. I think only an effective reform of the bylaws, with several mechanisms that have already been widely debated and presented, can shed some light so that Corinthians can truly save itself.”

Still speaking about the club’s situation, the official mentioned the recent audit reports and once again defended structural changes.

“We saw the audit reports, above all, and we are living through a very serious situation. So if we are not able to create effective mechanisms in the bylaws to curb a series of things that have been happening for many years, we will not be able to save the club.”

During the interview, Romeu also pointed to issues he considers important advances within the bylaw reform.

“I think some decisions were made that are important and create some hope. For example, the end of the ‘chapinhas.’ Individual voting is a very good sign of hope, because it helps break up certain deals and backroom arrangements.”

Another point highlighted by the official was the adoption of open voting in deliberations.

“It also became clear that open voting, which we have advocated from the start, carried through on this: the transparency of publicly showing who is who and what interests are being defended.”

Despite the positive points he mentioned, Romeu criticized the possibility of unlimited re-elections within the club, an issue that returned to the debate after the base text was not approved.

“A setback that I think is dangerous, with the base text not being approved, was allowing unlimited re-elections. That is very dangerous.”

The Deliberative Council president also commented on the inclusion of Fiel Torcedor in Corinthians’ electoral process and said the change could significantly alter the club’s political landscape.

“When we manage to make this retroactive for three years, to match the members, it is a major step forward. You will have at least twice, almost three times as many people deciding the next election.”

Romeu said the club will need to speed up the registration process for eligible supporters so they can already take part in the presidential election scheduled for November.

“We need to move fast so this takes effect quickly, the registration is done, and it is determined who has been up to date over the last three years so they can already vote in the November election. I think that completely changes the electoral landscape. There is no longer a favorite.”

According to him, expanding participation in the election directly changes Corinthians’ political scenario.

“It opens the club up for outsiders to take part. Corinthians begins to breathe, even if on life support, but you already have a completely changed picture.”

Taking stock of the vote, Romeu mentioned the pressure faced during the process and said that some council members either did not attend or voted differently from how they would have liked.

“We fought very hard to get here. It was hard work by the committee, with a lot of pressure. A lot of people did not come because they are under pressure. A lot of people voted for things they did not want to vote for.”

Next, the official used a metaphor to define the club’s current political moment.

“We managed, at least, to escape hell. We are in purgatory, but it already gives us a chance to climb back up the stairs.”

Romeu also said that, even without all the desired changes, the process represents an important step forward for Corinthians.

“Overall, we managed to break through a very difficult barrier. The personal and family sacrifice of some people, including us, will end up shaking some pillars that seemed untouchable. So yes, we are able to move forward. That is important.”

The official also stressed that he believes there will be further changes before the General Assembly is held.

“We are going to have a chance to change Corinthians’ history, and I hope we can achieve even more before the General Assembly.”

Commenting on the recent history of the reform’s progress, Romeu recalled the public hearing held in February and explained how the base text was forwarded to the council members.

“In February, when we had the last public hearing, some proposals came up afterward, the committee met and drafted the base text. When we sent the base text to everyone, and it is even on the website, it was made clear at that moment that for proposals with more than three items, the two most-voted ones would be decided by the General Assembly.”

Romeu also explained how the vote involving the base text took place during the Deliberative Council meeting.

“The base text had three proposals. One was to approve it, the second was to approve it with specific changes, and the third was to reject it. So you effectively had three proposals, and two competed directly: approve and reject.”

According to the official, this situation reinforces the understanding that the matter should still go before the members’ General Assembly.

“I have no doubt that we had three proposals, two were voted on, and for that reason I think the General Assembly of Members has to decide.”

Romeu also commented on the legal action that tried to suspend the General Assembly and criticized how the process was handled.

“The judge did not grant an injunction at first, there was an appeal, and he denied it again. In my opinion, there was a little setup between the defendant club and the plaintiff. And then there was nothing the judge could do. If the plaintiff coordinates with the defendant and the defendant agrees with the plaintiff, the judge grants the injunction.”

Still on the matter, he said that at no point did the courts consider the notice called by the Deliberative Council president to be irregular.

“At no point was it said or argued that the notice was illegal or irregular because it was issued by the Council president. The person who calls the meeting and sets the agenda is the Council president, that is indisputable.”

Romeu again argued that only the members have the legitimacy to approve or reject the proposed bylaw changes. The official also criticized political practices previously adopted within Corinthians.

“The General Assembly is the one that decides. And if the General Assembly does not want it, it rejects it. That is perfectly fine, that is democracy. What existed was a practice created in recent years in which one group had an absolute majority and decided what would or would not go to a vote, and the member just had to swallow it.”

Lastly, Romeu said the club needs to avoid political setbacks and reinforced the importance of the democratic participation of members.

“What cannot happen is for Corinthians to go backward and become a dictatorship again like the one we had,” he concluded.

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