São Paulo Prosecutor Files 50 Lawsuits Against Ex-Agriculture Secretary Over Road Program

The Public Prosecutor's Office of São Paulo has initiated a significant legal offensive, filing 50 civil actions against former state Secretary of Agriculture, Francisco Matturro. These lawsuits target alleged irregularities within 147 contracts associated with the "Melhor Caminho" program, a state initiative focused on rural road construction, implemented between 2021 and 2022. The core accusation revolves around Matturro's authorization of substantial additional payments, amounting to R$ 50 million, to contracting companies.

According to the Public Prosecutor's Office, these additional payments were approved under the guise of economic rebalancing for the contracts. Crucially, these authorizations allegedly proceeded despite explicit technical and legal opinions from within the Department of Agriculture and the State's Sub-Prosecutor General's Office that advised against such disbursements. This detail suggests a potential disregard for established procedures and expert advice, raising serious questions about the decision-making process during Matturro's tenure.

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The proposition of dozens of civil actions is disproportionate for discussing the same subject, generating conflicting decisions.

Representing Matturro, lawyer Fernando José da Costa has argued that the sheer volume of lawsuits—50 actions addressing what he describes as the "same object"—is disproportionate and risks generating conflicting judicial decisions. He points to the fact that out of 147 civil inquiries initiated, 16 have already been archived by the Public Prosecutor's Office itself, which he contends highlights the inconsistency of the investigations. The former governors during the period in question, João Doria and Rodrigo Garcia, are not targets of these actions and have not commented. The "Melhor Caminho" program, launched under Itamar Borges, aimed to improve rural infrastructure for agricultural logistics, and its execution under Matturro is now under intense legal scrutiny, reflecting São Paulo's commitment to fiscal responsibility and accountability in public works.

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As a result of the analysis of 147 contracts signed in different municipalities, 147 civil inquiries were opened. Of these, 16 have already been archived by the Public Prosecutor's Office itself, which shows the inconsistency of part of the investigations.