The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes (PSD), came out in defense of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and criticized the actions of Governor Cláudio Castro (PL) in the actions taken during the mega-operation in the capital of Rio de Janeiro, which left more than 100 people dead. According to Paes, public security is a responsibility of the State and there is an “absolutely ridiculous pushing game”.
“If security is going bad, it’s the governor of Rio and the other states in the country who are to blame. What is being done is a pushing game, it’s absolutely ridiculous. It’s obvious that the federal government and the municipalities can help, but the responsibility of those in control of the public security system are the state governments. This debate needs to be clear. The pushing game has to be overcome,” said Paes during the Esfera group’s business forum.
Paes, who is a pre-candidate for the government of Rio in 2026 against Cláudio Castro’s group, also defended the federal government’s stance in the face of the charges made. The mega-operation left 122 people dead, including five military police officers from the Rio Shock Battalion.
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“Everyone here knows that I am an ally of President Lula. I have heard a lot that he is president of the whole of Brazil, of Rio de Janeiro, of São Paulo, of Santa Catarina. Why is it only his fault in Rio? Isn’t he responsible for the good public security numbers in Santa Catarina? He asked Governor Jorginho Mello to fulfill his obligations. Isn’t the Federal Police the same one that operates in Rio?”, questioned the mayor.
The operation took place in the early hours of October 28, in the Penha and Alemão complexes. With the effects of the mega-operation, there was friction between federal and state administrations. Castro claimed not to have received help from the Union for the action. In response, the Minister of Public Security, Ricardo Lewandowski, stated that he had not received any requests for support. The governor then backed down and said he had been “misinterpreted”.
The situation also motivated the minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Alexandre de Moraes, to go to Rio de Janeiro to monitor the operation. Another effect felt was the movement of Congress and the Lula government around public security projects with a focus on the 2026 elections.
