The mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes (PSD), has been making room for former mayors from the interior of the state in his administration and created a position within the Municipal Civil House, aimed at travel to other cities. Paes’s movements occur with an eye on a candidacy for the state government in the 2026 elections and aims to attract allies in municipalities of the Metropolitan, North and South Fluminense region.
Since the beginning of the year, three politicians who have run other municipalities in the state of Rio have gained posts in the management of Paes. One is the former mayor of Rio das Flores Vicente Guedes (PP), who became a territorial integration coordinator in the Civil House, with gross salary of R $ 28,400 per month. The coordination was created by Paes in February, on the eve of the appointment of Guedes, who is ally of Deputy André Corrêa (PP).
In a photo published in the office of Paes, alongside the mayor and deputy, Eduardo Cavaliere, Guedes said he would have “secretary status” in the city hall.
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“The function will be to promote the integration between the municipalities of Rio de Janeiro and the City of Rio de Janeiro, which will require trips throughout the interior of the state,” wrote Guedes on a social network.
Since then, the former mayor of Rio das Flores has released visits to municipalities such as Vassouras, Rio Claro, Paraíba do Sul and Comendador Levy Gasparian, with the objective of discussing “municipalist guidelines” on behalf of Rio de Janeiro.
Guedes also articulated visits from other former Mandates to Paes, such as former São Fidélis Davi Loureiro, received in the Mayor of Rio’s Office in July. At the time, along with Loureiro, Paes recorded a video stating that he was working to “improve the lives of cariocas, but also very concerned about the lives of the people of our state.”
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Another appointment of the mayor of Rio was that of Leandro Pereira Netto, who since March operates in the “Project Management Center” of the Municipal Company MultiRio. Known as Leandro Peixe, he is former mayor of Rio Bonito and disputed the reelection in 2024 for solidarity, but was defeated.
To Globo, Peixe stated that his appointment was articulated by federal deputy Áureo Ribeiro, president of solidarity in Rio and one of the party leaders of whom Paes seeks support. According to the former mayor of Rio Bonito, acronyms who also have nominations in the state government are afraid of “retaliation” if they already board in a Paes candidacy, but the alliances sewn by the mayor of the capital “already give a strength to this project.”
“The party has not yet positioned itself, but I will certainly support Paes’s candidacy to governor,” Peixe said, which receives $ 10,000 a month in the MultiRio.
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Paes also appointed the former mayor of Tanguá Valber Marcelo (PP) in Rio Luz. Last year, he tried to resume the city that commanded between 2013 and 2020, but was unsuccessful. Before competing in the last election, he was appointed in the office of state deputy Renato Machado (PT).
Sought by the report, Valber recalled that he had already passed through Rio Luz at the beginning of Paes management in 2021 and said he has an electrician formation.
“The other time I even had a better position.” This one now, for me, is a break-gill-argued Valber, which has $ 2.1 thousand of monthly compensation in Rio Luz.
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In addition to expanding the network of former mayors with a seat at City Hall, Paes has been dedicated to traveling the interior. On Friday, he traveled to Barra Mansa, in Sul Fluminense, to switch the new management of the PSD municipal directory. One of the participants of the event was former state deputy Marcelo Cabeleireiro, another who was appointed in June at Rio Luz. The former deputy ran last year to Barra Mansa City Hall by União Brasil, but did not be elected.
Paes’s nominations in Rio Luz generated questioning the office of Councilman Pedro Duarte (Novo), which opposes the current mayor. In a letter sent to the Municipal Court of Auditors (TCM), Duarte claimed that the staff of the Municipal Company increased by 15% this year alone and requested an investigation on the “legality and administrative motivation of nominations”.
Sought, the city of Rio claimed that the former mayors mentioned “work in different areas of the municipal administration, contributing to the experience and knowledge acquired over years of dedication to public service.”
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In addition to the positions, Paes has sought to signal to municipalities in the interior with initiatives that serve voters from outside the capital, such as the project of “BRT Metropolitano”, announced this month. The mayor of Rio also recently replaced the Panama hat, a model associated with the carnival of the capital, with a “cowboy” style.
Change of look
In recent weeks, Paes has changed the usual Panama Hat, a model associated with Rio Carnival, for a “cowboy” style hat, in a nod to the interior of the river.
Gateway to the capital
In August, the mayor of Rio announced a project named “BRT Metropolitano”, with the construction of two bus terminals in access sites of Baixada Fluminense to the capital.
State trips
Paes has also been dedicated to traveling inland municipalities for political seams. On Friday, for example, he attended the inauguration of a PSD directory in Barra Mansa.
