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The Mayor of Campo Grande is the head of the executive branch of the government in the city of Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. This position is elected by the citizens and is responsible for the city’s administration.

The Executive Branch is represented by the Mayor and his Cabinet of Secretaries, following the model proposed by the Federal Constitution. Since 2017, districts have been administered by subprefectures, with their heads appointed directly by the mayor.^[1] The city hall is currently made up of ten departments: General Comptroller of Inspection and Transparency (CGM); Social Assistance Secretariat (SAS); Secretariat of Culture and Tourism (Sectur); Secretariat of Economic Development and Science and Technology (Sedesc); Department of Education (Semed); Secretariat of Finance and Planning (Sefin); Management Secretariat (Seges); Secretariat of Government and Institutional Relations (Segov); Secretariat of Infrastructure and Public Services (Sisep); Secretariat of Environment and Urban Management (Semadur) and Secretariat of Health (Sesau). There is also a special secretariat: the Special Secretariat for Social Security and Defense (Sesde) and four sub-secretariats: Sub-Secretariat for the Defense of Human Rights (SDHU); Undersecretary of Youth Policies (Semju); Undersecretariat for Women's Policies (Semu) and Undersecretariat for Consumer Protection and Defense.^[2]^[3] In addition to the legislative process and the work of the secretariats, there are also a series of municipal councils, each of them dealing with different themes, compulsorily composed of representatives from the various sectors of organized civil society. The following municipal councils are currently active: Municipal Anti-Drug Council (Comad); of Children and Adolescents (CMDCA); of Education (CME); of the Elderly (CMI) and Health (CMS).^[4]

History

Campo Grande started as a small village founded in 1877 by farmers José Antônio Pereira and Manoel Vieira de Sousa (a.k.a. Manoel Olivério), who came from Minas Gerais just after the end of the Paraguayan War. They founded the village, known at that time as Santo Antônio de Campo Grande, near the Serra de Maracaju cliffs, at the confluence of two streams named Prosa and Segredo (Portuguese for "conversation" and "secret," respectively), whose courses now coincide with two of the city's most important avenues. In the end of 1877, the founder built the village's first church. The roughly aligned houses formed the first street, known as Rua Velha (Old Street), today Rua 26 de Agosto (26 August Street). This street ended where today one finds a square in honor of the immigrants that later came to the city.^[5]

The city started to develop relatively fast because of its privileged climate and location. These factors drew people from other regions of the country, especially the South, the Southeast and the Northeast regions. The settlement was officially recognized as a municipality by the State Government on August 26, 1899, and renamed Campo Grande.

Political changes

Throughout its history, the position of mayor has seen various changes in its selection process. During the Revolution of 1930, the mayor was deposed and replaced on the same day Getúlio Vargas became the President of Brazil. The mayor’s election process was later changed to secret ballot voting. There have been periods, such as during the Vargas Era and the military dictatorship, when the mayor was appointed by the state governor. Democratic elections for the mayor were resumed in 1985. In 2014, Mayor Alcides Bernal was impeached, and his deputy, Gilmar Olarte, took over. However, Olarte was later removed from office, and Bernal returned as mayor following a judicial decision.