Leader of the political group involved in Covid-19 for (), the state secretary () has become in recent weeks an option considered by the former president to compete for the succession of governor of , (PL), in 2026.
Reis’ name has been highlighted as a solution that meets the former president’s two desires: a close ally and member of the party currently at the base of President Lula.
The name suggestion was made publicly by senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) during a gathering promoted by deputy Altineu Côrtes (PL-RJ) in São Gonçalo (RJ) at the beginning of the month. The former president was present and agreed to the proposal.
However, like Bolsonaro, the Transport Secretary of the Castro administration is ineligible. He was convicted of an environmental crime for building a clandestine subdivision in Duque de Caxias.
The conviction prevented him from being Castro’s deputy. He was registered with the governor on the 2022 ticket, but had the .
Reis, however, says he has legal means to overturn the impediment. He claims that he did not attempt a suspensive effect to keep his name on the ticket so as not to disturb Castro.
“I was re-elected mayor in the first round and had the same process. I entered with suspensive effect, won and took over as mayor. But, at that moment [em 2022]I gave up to the [atual vice-governador Thiago] Pampolha so as not to disturb the governor. I was a collaborator, I wasn’t there to get in the way. I asked for a replacement so the plate wouldn’t bleed, with image wear and doubt”, said Reis.
Regarding the possibility of becoming a candidate with Bolsonaro’s support, he minimizes the references from his allies, but says he is prepared.
“I have 32 years of public life, 10 mandates and I was the politician who achieved the most in Rio de Janeiro. I am the person with the greatest credibility. I am ready and capable of any position in this country. If I take over the Palácio do Planalto today, I change Brazil on a rocking horse. […] We are always happy when we have recognition from political friends, from other parties, recognizing our name with credibility”, said Reis.
The emedebista appears as another of the alternatives sought by Bolsonaro supporters to succeed Castro, an ally of Bolsonaro who suffers from unpopularity in the state. Supporters of the former president say they do not have a clear name for the dispute.
Reis appears as an option to the president of the Legislative Assembly, Rodrigo Bacellar (), who has been seeking to. The deputy has the mayor of the capital, (), seen as a likely candidate for President Lula’s base for the Guanabara Palace.
In favor of the secretary, the fact that he is a name with many years in Rio de Janeiro politics weighs heavily, which is seen as an asset to attract allies from the metropolitan region and the interior to the Bolsonaro coalition. Despite the recent years, he still needs to gain the trust of the former president and those around him.
Another point in Reis’ favor is his close relationship with Bolsonaro, always a source of tension for his candidate choices in Rio de Janeiro, the former president’s electoral college.
The secretary is the brother of federal deputy Gutemberg Reis (MDB), indicted on suspicion of having intermediated the fraud to issue a Covid-19 vaccine certificate to Bolsonaro. The crime occurred, according to the investigation, through Duque de Caxias City Hall, dominated for years by the Reis family.
Washington Reis was not the target of the operation, but he was the mayor at the time of the events under investigation. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the municipality became a kind of Rio de Janeiro.
At the beginning of the pandemic, the former mayor stated that evangelical churches would remain open because the cure would come from there. Months later, he was admitted to a private hospital in the south of Rio de Janeiro due to complications from Covid-19. In 2021, he was accused of illegally exercising his profession by .
Mayor for three terms in Duque de Caxias, Reis collects accusations throughout his administration. In 2022, for example, he was accused of suppressing native forest for the construction of a cemetery in Duque de Caxias. According to the complaint, he falsified reports and tried to take over the city’s old cemetery by force.
The secretary is also facing criminal action for alleged fraud in public deeds on land in Belford Roxo, in Baixada Fluminense.
According to the Public Ministry, he paid R$150,000 to a notary to defraud purchase and sale deeds in order to regularize the documentation of areas in which he was interested in the city. The land is close to others owned by his company, WR Participações, whose property in the region is valued at R$11 million.
On the 13th, Reis was the target of a Federal Police operation on suspicion of vote buying. His nephew, Netinho Reis (MDB), elected mayor of Duque de Caxias, tried to hide the phone next to tubs of ice cream inside a freezer. The cell phone was seized.
The secretary denies the accusations and states that the country has become a “constant denouncement”.
“This accusation business is normal in life. The important thing is that I have nothing finalized and judged. I am always available to clarify any fact, both to society and to the courts. Politics has become a den of cowardice”, said the secretary.
