To minister Maria Isabel Galotti, do voted this Tuesday (4) to revoke the mandate of the governor of Rio de Janeiro, for abuse of political and economic power in the campaign for reelection, in 2022. The minister also spoke out for the declaration of ineligibility for eight years and the holding of new elections for the state government. The minister’s vote also condemned former vice-governor Thiago Pampolha, Gabriel Rodrigues Lopes, former president of Ceperj; and state deputy Rodrigo da Silva Bacellar (União), former government secretary.
The vote was taken at the beginning of the trial in which the Public Electoral Ministry (MPE) and the coalition of former deputy Marcelo Freixo (PSOL-RJ) intend to reverse the decision of the Regional Electoral Court of Rio de Janeiro (TRE-RJ) which, in May last year, acquitted Castro and other defendants in the process that deals with alleged irregular hiring at the State Center for Statistics, Research and Training of Public Servants Foundation of the (Ceperj) and at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (Uerj).
In her statement, the minister, who is the case’s rapporteur, said that the hiring was carried out outside constitutional norms, without supervision and outside the state’s payroll. Galotti highlighted that the payments were made directly to the beneficiaries, that is, at the bank’s cash desk.
The rapporteur also cited testimonies from witnesses who confirmed that they had been coerced into participating in Castro’s campaign and making posts favorable to the governor on social media in exchange for the promise of maintaining their job. “Cláudio Castro appears in a central position in the execution of the illicit scheme. Using his prerogatives as head of the Executive, he not only agreed with the practices and authorized them, in addition to having issued regulations that made the irregularities viable”, he stated. After Isabel Galotti’s vote, the trial was suspended following a request from Minister Antônio Carlos Ferreira. There is no set date for the resumption of the trial.
Indictment
During the trial, the deputy electoral attorney, Alexandre Espinosa, defended Castro’s impeachment and condemnation to ineligibility for eight years. The Public Ministry stated that Castro obtained an electoral advantage in hiring temporary employees, without legal support, and in the decentralization of social projects to send resources to entities unrelated to Rio’s public administration.
According to the accusation, the decentralization of resources occurred to encourage the hiring of 27,665 people, totaling expenses of R$248 million. The indictment also cited that payments to contractors were made through cash withdrawals, with the aim of attracting voters. Furthermore, some contractors would have worked on Castro’s campaign.
“The evidence in the records authorizes the characterization of the abuse of political and economic power, with enough gravity to confiscate the legitimacy of the election. This electoral prosecutor’s office manifests itself by granting the appeal to establish the prohibited conduct, the practice of abuse of political and economic power, revoking the diploma of the elected investigators, declaring their ineligibility for a period of eight years”, said Espinosa.
Defense
At the trial, lawyer Fernando Neves, representing Castro, said that the governor only sanctioned a law from the Legislative Assembly and a decree to regulate Ceperj’s operations and cannot be held responsible for any irregularities.
“If there were any irregularities in the execution of these programs, the governor cannot answer for them. Imagine that if a court driver got a speeding ticket, he would charge the president []. Obviously, it makes no sense,” he said.
*With information from Agência Brasil
