Bruno Covas, mayor of Sao Paulo, dies of cancer at age 41

In this Sept. 4, 2020 photo, Sao Paulo Mayor Bruno Covas looks on during a news conference about how the state worst-hit by COVID-19 is managing six months into the pandemic, and ongoing vaccine trials, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Covas has died of cancer on Sunday May 16, 2021, according to the Sao Paulo city press office. (AP Photo/Andre Penner) (Andre Penner, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

BRASILIA – Bruno Covas, the mayor of Sao Paulo, died of cancer on Sunday, according to the press office of Brazil’s biggest city. He was 41.

Covas, a grandson of a governor of Sao Paulo state, was elected as state congressman and later to the national congress before becoming mayor in 2018. He was re-elected as mayor last year.

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His party, the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, mourned his death, describing Covas as one of its ″most promising and brilliant leaders” and praising his efforts to build new schools, hospitals and housing for Sao Paulo.

Covas, who took leave from his job in early May, was suffering from cancer of the digestive system. Last month, doctors said the cancer had spread to his liver and bones.

The deputy mayor, Ricardo Nunes, will lead the city for the remainder of the mayor’s term, which ends in early 2025.