Gilberto Kassab


Gilberto Kassab is a Brazilian politician, former mayor of São Paulo. His term ended in 2013. A civil engineer and economist, one of the most famous Brazilians of Syrian descent, Kassab took over from José Serra, after Serra decided to run for governor of São Paulo.
He belongs to the Syrian community of São Paulo, and is a member of the Partido Social Democrático. He is mentioned in 2017 among the beneficiaries of bribes from the multinational JBS.

Political career

The advertising industry criticized the city of São Paulo administration for the Cidade Limpa law, which prohibits all forms of external media and visual pollution such as billboards. Ad companies tried to keep the billboards in the streets with injunctions, but the supreme court determined the law to be constitutional. At any rate, support for the initiative from the public continues to be widespread.

Appearance in ''The Greatest Movie Ever Sold''

Mayor Kassab appeared at length in the Morgan Spurlock 2011 documentary The Greatest Movie Ever Sold talking about the decision of the City Council to ban advertising in the city.