After the police operation last week, governors opposing the government (PT) leveraged public security actions in their states and reinforced the attempt to erode the PT member’s image in the midst of the 2026 election year.
The episode became the subject of an exchange of accusations between oppositionists and government supporters in recent days.
Last week, right-wing parliamentarians and governors came to the defense of the governor of Rio, (), with direct demands on Lula and allegations of a lack of support from the federal sphere to the states. Then, the group’s strategy extended to promoting actions by state governments, while .
Days after the action that targeted the criminal faction Comando Vermelho, the governor of Minas Gerais, (Novo), a pre-candidate for Planalto in 2026, announced that the state had reinforced security on the border with Rio de Janeiro, in addition to having killed a leader of the PCC (First Command in the Capital) in the region.
Known as “Jagunço”, the leader was killed in an operation by the Minas Gerais Civil Police on Thursday (30). The action also arrested three other men linked to the crime in the Minas Gerais triangle. “Minas will not be a terrorist’s backyard,” Zema wrote online.
(PL), governor of Santa Catarina, took the opportunity to change the more than 250 fines applied in one week to anyone seen smoking marijuana in public squares in the state, in addition to publicizing the number of criminal police officers hired during his administration, which reached 2,000.
He also defended the autonomy of the states in decisions on public security, an idea that goes against what is foreseen in the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) initiated by the department headed by the minister (Justice).
“With all due respect to the federal government, they can’t tell Santa Catarina how we have to act here,” said Jorginho in one of the videos released. “They should support us by sending resources. We know how to do our homework.”
The proposal, which is being processed in Congress, provides that it will be up to the Union to establish guidelines to be followed by the states and . The text has received criticism from state managers, who ask for freedom for each federation unit to manage its issues.
Another name to use the operation as a motto to highlight local public security policies was the vice-governor of the DF, Celina Leão (PP), candidate to succeed the current governor, ().
Last Tuesday (4), she stated that organized crime has not taken hold in the Federal District and that the local government carries out daily monitoring to avoid criminal factions, especially in prisons. The deputy went so far as to declare that “there is no place in the DF” where the public security of her administration would not enter.
Soon after the operation, the Lula government’s stance was to prioritize, in comments and positions on the topic, encouraging the approval of the PEC, with some of the PT’s assistants avoiding direct confrontation with Castro.
However, over the days, Esplanada ministers hardened their tone and directly criticized the management of Rio de Janeiro. Finally, President Lula himself spoke more firmly to , in an interview this week.
According to , the minister of the Communication Secretariat, on Tuesday, presented to Lula and other ministers a proposal for actions and concepts that could reposition the federal government on the issue, an idea called “Alliance Against Crime for Peace”.
Two days after the operation, right-wing governors met in Rio to show support for Castro. They announced the creation of a group they called , which brings together heads of state executives to coordinate actions to combat organized crime.
In addition to Castro, Mello and Zema, the governors (Republicans) of São Paulo and () of Goiás participated. In addition to publicizing the actions, demonstrations on networks on the topic were the standard followed among them.
A survey by the company BN3 for October showed that the agenda generated an increase in digital engagement from several names on the right, including parliamentarians and governors. Castro led the ranking among state managers, with a 72% increase in his followers. Jorginho and Zema had an increase of 4% and 1.5%, respectively.
