Marta Teresa Smith de Vasconcellos Suplicy (; born 18 March 1945) is a Brazilian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and psychologist. She was Mayor of São Paulo from 2001 to 2004. She later served as the Brazilian Minister of Tourism between 14 March 2007, and 4 June 2008, when she resigned to run again for the mayoralty of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

. In 2015, she left the Brazilian Workers' Party (PT). Suplicy is currently a member of

Solidariedade Solidarity (, (Brazilian Portuguese: ''Solidariedade'') is a Brazilian social-democratic political party that uses the TSE number 77. The party elected 13 deputies and one senator in the 2018 Brazilian general election. In the 2022 Brazilian ...

(SD).

Career

Marta Suplicy attended Michigan State University (1966–68), and Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (1969–75); she did graduate work at Stanford University (1973). Suplicy started her career as a TV anchorwoman, providing sex advice on a popular show named ''TV Mulher'' (Woman TV), broadcast by

Rede Globo TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Grupo Globo. The TV stati ...

. While serving as Congresswoman, she proposed a gay civil unions act. After running for governor of

and losing to Mário Covas of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) in 1998, she was elected mayor of the state capital, São Paulo, in 2000. Her administration of the city is marked by the changes she made to the city's bus system, creating a ticket that is valid for a period of two hours, called '' bilhete único''. In the public educational system she created large schools and cultural centers, called "CEU", which were built in the poorest districts of the city. Towards the end of her administration, she began the construction of several

underpass A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube constr ...

es which alleviated traffic in certain points of the city. She also increased many existing municipal

tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

es as well as creating new ones. In 2004, she ran for a second term, but was unseated by former PSDB presidential candidate

José Serra José Serra Chirico (; born 19 March 1942) is a Brazilian politician who has served as a Congressman, Senator, Minister of Planning, Minister of Health, Mayor of São Paulo, Governor of São Paulo state, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bra ...

. On 14 March 2007, Suplicy accepted the

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Party ...

's invitation to become the new Minister of Tourism. Later that same year, on 13 June 2007, when interviewed about the

2006–2007 Brazilian aviation crisis Between 2006 and 2007, Brazil's civil aviation sector suffered a crisis characterized by significant flight delays and cancellations, air traffic controller strikes and safety concerns about the country's airport and air traffic infrastructure. ...

, Suplicy suggested that users of the

Congonhas Airport Congonhas (Congonhas do Campo until 1948) is a historical Brazilian city located in the state of Minas Gerais. It is situated south from Belo Horizonte, the capital of state of Minas Gerais, by the highway BR-040. As of 2020, the city had a popul ...

in São Paulo who suffered long delays while heading for vacation should "relax and enjoy because they will forget the troubles afterwards" (

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

: "relaxa e goza porque você vai esquecer dos transtornos."). Her speech included a ''

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

'', as the word she used for "enjoy" can also refer to an

orgasm Orgasm (from Greek , ; "excitement, swelling") or sexual climax is the sudden discharge of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, resulting in rhythmic, involuntary muscular contractions in the pelvic region chara ...

. On 3 October 2010, Suplicy was elected for the Federal Senate of Brazil, becoming the top voted female Senator ever, receiving over 8.2 million votes. She is also the first female ever elected Senator from São Paulo, the most populous state of Brazil. She promised to fight for the approval of PLC 122, a bill criminalizing homophobia, and also reintroduced the same-sex civil unions bill. The latter received its first victory in the Senate Human Rights Committee on 24 May 2012. In 2016, after leaving the PT and joining the PMDB, Suplicy vigorously supported Vice President Michel Temer and President of Congress Eduardo Cunha in the move to impeach her former political party colleague President Dilma Rousseff. Suplicy's decision was deemed seriously divisive by many including her son, Supla, who proclaimed,"Minha mãe é golpista, meu pai é petista e eu sou anarquista. Momentos políticos difíceis, né" (My mother is a coup-plotter, my father is a member of the PT, and I am an anarchist. Difficult times, huh?).

Family

Suplicy has three sons, one of whom is the musician Supla. From 1965 to 2001, she was married to

Eduardo Suplicy Eduardo Matarazzo Suplicy (born 21 June 1941) is a Brazilian left-wing politician, economist and professor. He is one of the founders and main political figures on the Workers Party of Brazil (PT). In the municipal elections of São Paulo in ...

, a PT Brazilian senator from the state of São Paulo who is the father of her children. Later, she married

Luis Favre Luis Favre Argentine (born in Buenos Aires, Argentina 1949) is the pseudonym of Argentine-born Brazilian journalist and political activist Felipe Belisario Wermus. Favre joined the political party Politica Obrera as a young man. Later, he moved to ...

, whom she divorced after a relationship of nearly eight years. She currently dates Márcio Toledo, ex-president of the Jockey Club of São Paulo.

References

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Suplicy, Marta 1945 births Living people Mayors of São Paulo Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) from São Paulo Ministers of Culture of Brazil Ministers of Tourism of Brazil Writers from São Paulo Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Brazilian people of Italian descent Brazilian people of English descent Stanford University alumni Michigan State University alumni Women mayors of places in Brazil Workers' Party (Brazil) politicians Brazilian Democratic Movement politicians Brazilian columnists Brazilian feminists Women government ministers of Brazil Brazilian women columnists