The governor of, (), tries to finish in the coming days an agreement with the deputy, Thiago Pampolha (), to allow the President of the Legislative Assembly, (), to take over the Guanabara Palace next year to run for succession in office.
Castro’s main currency will be available from the 19th: a vacancy of counselor at the State Court of Auditors (TCE). The current occupant of the position, José Maurício Nolasco, participates in his last session on Wednesday (14), before turning 75 and retiring compulsorily.
The Governor’s goal is to convince Pampolha to accept an indication for Nolasco’s vacancy on the ECA and make room in the succession line. Thus, Bacellar could take over the government early next year, when Castro should leave office to run for the Senate.
The strategy is similar to that adopted by former governor Sérgio Cabral in 2014, when he resigned to highlight deputy Luiz Fernando Pezão (MDB) before. The difference is that the beneficiary at the time did not depend on the “chair dance” now planned by Castro.
The difficulty is due to the fact that Pampolha also decided to put himself as a pre-candidate for 2026. He expanded the investment in his social networks, investing in a hard speech in public safety, like the governor.
Since last year, when he has lived in the turras with the former plate partner. They even broke, then reconciled, but the deputy has not yet recovered the space in government ,.
In the municipal elections, he approached Eduardo Paes (PSD) ,. Pampolha was in an event where the mayor of Rio de Janeiro called Castro “loose”.
The deputy has said that being his right to take over Guanabara Palace if Castro leaves the chair. The governor, in turn, threatens not to apply and stay in office just to disrupt the former ally’s plans. Despite the Rustes, the two maintain dialogue about the change in the succession line, and an agreement is seen as likely for the next few days.
This week, Castro should also start a reform in the secretariat and can reopen space for the Pampalha political group at Cedae (State Water and Sewer Company).
The reformulation also aims to consolidate in favor of Bacellar the maintenance of the alliance that reelected it in 2022.
The goal is to try to attract Castro allies to your plate. The mayor has been betting on the PP, commanded by Deputy dr. Luizinho. One of the signs was to open conversations about the delivery of the vice vacancy to the mayor of Campos dos Goytacazes, Wladimir Garotinho (PP), son of former governor Anthony Garotinho.
The mayor’s movements suffered a setback with the, which joined União Brasil with the PP.
The group’s command in Rio de Janeiro should be shared between Bacellar, regional president of União Brasil, and dr. Luizinho. Any rebellion of the PP leader against the President of the Assembly in favor of Paes is seen as unlikely.
Another focus of Castro is the alliance with Republicans, the party to which the mayor also seeks to approach. The command of the acronym in Rio de Janeiro should be resumed by the Universal Church, which supported the reelection of Paes in 2024.
The movement aims to limit the mayor’s alliances to leftist parties, in order to reinforce its binding to President Lula (PT), whose popularity in Rio de Janeiro remains down, according to internal surveys by the Castro team.
In the 2024 election, Paes was able to mitigate the scenario with the support of evangelical leaders. However, the assessment of the governor’s team is that he will have more difficulty accessing the interior and Baixada Fluminense electorate, areas where former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) had better results in 2022.
Bacellar, in turn, comes to the former president to assist in the exhibition of his name, still unknown to much of the electorate. The president of the Assembly had a meteoric rise as state deputy and never disputed majority position.
Bolsonaro signals the possibility of support. However, it keeps the expectations of the Secretary of Transport, Washington Reis (MDB), of being the candidate of the Bolsonarist field. Weighs against the emedebista the ineligibility due to a conviction in the Supreme Court (STF).
Paes, in turn, maintains the speech that he will not leave the city to apply. It states that their political movements are due to an attempt to create a front against Castro. His allies, however, claim that he will be summoned to the dispute. On the other hand, the mayor considers the hypothesis not to try Guanabara Palace for the third time in a very adverse political scenario.
