Cesar Maia

Cesar Epit?cio Maia (born July 18, 1945) is the current mayor of

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Rio de Janeiro and possibly will be candidate for the presidency of Brazil in

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2006.

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A native of Rio born in 1945, like many other politically active members of his generation Maia was forced to leave Brazil in exile during the 1960s on account of his membership of the Brazilian Communist Party. Exiled in Chile, he obtained a degree in economics, but the 1973 coup in that country saw him return to his native land. After becoming Professor of Macroeconomics at the Fluminense Federal University in the neighbouring city of Niter?i, Maia became active in the Democratic Labour Party (PDT), founded by left populist the late Leonel Brizola. Maia supported Brizola?s campaign to become Governor of Rio de Janeiro state in 1983, as Brazil was emerging from the military-led regime towards full democracy, and was rewarded with the position of Treasury Secretary for the state. Maia then served two terms in the Brazilian Congress on behalf of the party, only to join the centrist Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (PMDB) in 1991. One year later, he beat his former party?s candidate in the race for Mayor of Rio de Janeiro on behalf of the PMDB. His first term of office proved problematic, with charges that his administration was obsessed with gimmicks constantly levelled against him. He announced his decision to stand down at the next elections in 1996 and anointed Luiz Paulo Conde as his successor for the PMDB mayoral ticket. After an unsuccessful bid for the state governorship in 1998, Maia announced his intention to seek the mayoralty in 2000. However, the PMDB refused to shift their support from the incumbent Conde and Maia then defected once more to the right-leaning Party of the Liberal Front (PFL), under whose banner he won his second term as Mayor in 2000. In 2004, he was convincingly re-elected for a third term on the first round.

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[[image:cesar_nuzzman.jpg|right|thumb|The president of Brazilian

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Olympic Committee, Carlos Arthur Nuzzman, and Cesar Maia.]]

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Maia?s critics argued that his first term was concerned with superficial improvements to a problematic metropolis that shares world famous lush beaches and lavish entertainment with absolute poverty and dire life chances for many. The Mayor has also come under fire for declaring his candidacy for the 2006 presidential elections during the last set of mayoral elections, arguing that he can double up as Rio?s Mayor and his party?s standard-bearer in the national poll. His second and third terms as Mayor have seen him preside over a number of eye-catching initiatives that have often backfired. For instance, to tackle the city?s worsening housing shortage, he has proposed dousing the streets at night with toxic solution to keep away street sleepers and even allowing the military to play a role in trying to re-establish law and order in the crime-ridden favelas. Furthermore, Maia?s political opponents accuse him of manufacturing incidents and security threats during the election campaign as acts of ?political terrorism?. The Mayor is also a firm believer in de facto constitutional independence for Rio, supporting the idea of allowing the city to exist as a separate state within Brazil?s federal system.

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Maia?s more recent stints as Mayor have been characterised by some progress in his social programmes, possibly learning the lessons of his first term, and his attempts to reposition the city as a major international city. Unsuccessfully vying for candidate status for the 2012 Olympic Games, Maia did secure the 2007 Pan-American Games for the city. Most recently, it has been the city administration?s policy of abolishing speed limits in high crime areas in a bid to thwart car-jackings that has caught the world?s attention. However, at the current time it is his eye on the presidency that garners most headlines for the Mayor, even though his party has traditionally backed its partners in opposition nationally, the Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB). One of the leading contenders for the PSDB candidacy is Sao Paulo Mayor Jose Serra. Coincidentally, Maia?s son Rodrigo currently serves in the Brazilian Congress where he leads the PFL group in the Chamber of Deputies.

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July 18: July 18 is the 199th day (200th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 166 days remaining....

1945: 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar)....

Rio de Janeiro: :This article is about the city called Rio de Janeiro. For the state with the same name, see Rio de Janeiro (state)....

Cesar Maia related Images and Photos (experimental)

Cesar	Cesar Romero	Cesar Romero	Antoine-Cesar Bequerel French Physicist
Cesar de Vesme Testifies to Witnessing Materialisations	Monument to Cesar Franck square St. Clotilde 1891	UFC 112 Silva v. Maia [DVD]	Actor Cesar Romero in Scene from the Movie "Love That Brute"
Happy Landing Cesar Romero Sonja Henie Don Ameche Ethel Merman 1938	Cesar Fiaschi Equestrian and Author of Books on Horse-Riding	Cesar Franck at the Console of the Organ at St. Clotilde Basilica Paris 1885	Park Fountain Plaza De Cesar Chavez Downtown San Jose San Jose Santa Clara County California