Politicians of Lebanese descent flourish in Brazil
Written by Najib

 

SAO PAULO: Mayor Fernando Haddad’s current post was previously filled by one Gilberto Kassab. Decades earlier, the same office was held twice by Paulo Maluf, who also served as provincial governor. The city’s history includes such political figures as Guilherme Afif and Gabriel Chalita. Although the names suggest otherwise, the political saga described above does not refer to a Lebanese city. Instead, it traces some of the families that helped shape the city and state of S?o Paulo, Brazil’s economic capital and one of the world’s most important urban areas. They are all part of an influential generation of immigrants born to Lebanese parents.

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