São Paulo Appeals Court Overturns Order to Rename Dictatorship-Era Streets

Overview

• On September 23, the 7th Chamber of the São Paulo Court of Justice annulled a first-instance ruling that had compelled the city to rename 11 public sites tied to the 1964 military regime.
• Relator Fausto Seabra concluded there was no municipal omission and held that street naming is a shared competence of the Executive by decree and the City Council by formal law, precluding court-imposed deadlines.
• The judges cited the Haddad-era Ruas de Memória decree, which calls for gradual changes, and noted that two related bills are currently under discussion in the City Council.
• The suit was filed by the Instituto Vladimir Herzog and the Defensoria Pública da União, and the institute said it will appeal once formally notified of the decision.
• The city’s attorney’s office said it has not yet been notified and will file the appropriate appeal, reiterating that any renaming requires a specific law from the City Council under the Municipal Organic Law; the targeted list included sites such as Avenida Presidente Castelo Branco, Rua Trinta e Um de Março and Praça Augusto Rademaker Grunewald.