A public argument between the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudio Castro (PL)and the federal deputy Pedro Paulo (PSDB-RJ)first-time ally of the mayor Eduardo Paes (PSD)anticipated a likely electoral dispute between these two political groups in the 2026 election for state government.
The public disagreements began after an interview given by Pedro Paulo to the newspaper The Globepublished this Monday (11). On that occasion, Pedro Paulo made a series of criticisms of Castro, whom he called a “weak governor”.
“We need a governor with the political stature to face these problems [segurança pública e a questão fiscal]”, stated the deputy. “We had two governors recently: [Wilson] Witzel, the brief one, and Cláudio Castro, the weak one. He was unable to face these two dimensions”, said Eduardo Paes’s ally.
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“To combat militias and trafficking, entry of weapons, it is essential to have federal help. And I speak of political size because we need courage to refound the police, to restructure. Also tackle the issue of ADPF das Favelas, which had merit in the beginning, but had the opposite effect. It increased the problem in areas dominated by armed groups and even became an excuse to hide the incompetence of the Castro government”, criticized Pedro Paulo.
In the interview, the federal deputy made it clear that the objective of his political group is to launch Paes as a candidate for state government in 2026. Castro, who is in his second term, will not be able to run again.
“Eduardo will face a personal dilemma, his family is against it, the weight of being governor is great. But there will be no alternative: he will have to be a candidate. I don’t just speak because I’m president of the PSD [do Rio] and close to him for so many years. I start from the diagnosis of the main problems of the state: public security and the fiscal problem”, said the parliamentarian.
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“Eduardo has a deputy who is a guarantee of continuity. THE [Eduardo] Knight [também do PSD] He is a young but experienced team, very prepared. This will have to be explained, but I have no doubt that many people voted for Eduardo with the expectation that he would be a path to reversing the state’s situation. We need a governor with the political stature to face these problems, which also affect the federal sphere”, continued Pedro Paulo.
“What we don’t do is a spurious agreement, it’s good to know which page we’re going to. But, obviously, there is this difficulty in expansion. How do you run a campaign without mayors who are regional forces? It is a state that has always had difficulty making the mayor of the capital become governor. The PSD will work to have these forces. Dialogue with Washington Reis, from MDB, in Caxias. With Vladimir [Garotinho]from the PP, who won in Campos. There is Rogério Lisboa, from PP, from Nova Iguaçu. But we know the difficulty.”
Castro responds
After the interview with his political opponent’s ally, governor Cláudio Castro also went public and rebutted Pedro Paulo’s criticisms.
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“The eternal boy Robin, also a videomaker in his spare time, who always lived behind Batman, appeared again. From being purged by the polls in 2016, vetoed in 2022 to become minister and, now, abandoned at the altar in 2024, he appears as a ventriloquist in search of survival”, attacked Castro. “But we already know him: he has no history, no trajectory, no shine and he lives behind a little mouth.”
The lead exchanged between the governor of Rio and deputy Pedro Paulo is a preview of what should happen two years from now, in 2026. Without being able to run for a new term, Castro will have to nominate a name to represent him in the succession. On the opposite side, Paes’ candidacy for the government of Rio – which the mayor of the capital of Rio de Janeiro has denied – is taken for granted behind the scenes.
New attempt?
Even considered by opponents as one of the most skillful politicians in the country, Paes secured, in the first round of this year’s municipal elections, his fourth term as head of the capital of Rio de Janeiro – the second in a row. He had already governed Rio for two periods, between 2009 and 2017, invariably with a very positive assessment of his management.
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Paes has already run for state government twice, in 2006 and 2018, but was defeated both times. The elected vice-mayor, Eduardo Cavaliere (PSD)was personally chosen by Paes and is the mayor’s faithful squire, who considers him capable of taking over the municipal government if the incumbent leaves the post in two years.
