One day after O GLOBO highlighted an avalanche of notices launched by the Highway Department Foundation (DER-RJ), Ricardo Couto, president of the Rio Court of Justice (TJRJ) and acting governor of the state, published a decree in the Official Gazette yesterday. The same measure was extended to the state departments of Infrastructure and Public Works and Cities. The second portfolio was headed by Douglas Ruas (PL), who left the position to enter the race for Rio’s government and, yesterday, was elected president of the Rio Legislative Assembly (Alerj).
For the first time since taking office, with the resignation of governor Cláudio Castro, on March 23, Couto took office yesterday at Palácio Guanabara, in Laranjeiras. Until then, he dealt with Executive and Judiciary matters in his office at the Forum, in the Center.
Extinct subsecretariats
The interim governor’s scissors remain sharp. In another decree, Couto ordered the extinction of three sub-secretariats of the Civil House, including all its subordinate structures, under the argument of administrative reorganization without increasing expenses, as anticipated by columnist Lauro Jardim, from GLOBO: the deputy sub-secretariats of Special Projects, Gastronomy and Community Actions and Entrepreneurship.
The end of the sub-secretariats resulted in the dismissal of Tiago Moura Costa de Bulhões (under-secretary of Gastronomy); Flavio Ribeiro de Araujo Cid (deputy undersecretary for Special Projects); and Marise Halabi Miranda (undersecretary of Community Actions and Entrepreneurship), in addition to 380 other employees from these sectors.
With the layoffs at the Government Secretariat, also published the day before yesterday, around 500 commissioned employees, appointed by the former governor’s administration, have been laid off. And the fine-tooth comb continues. Last night, journalist Lauro Jardim reported a new departure at Cedae: after the change in presidency — Agnaldo Ballon, appointed by Castro, was replaced by Rafael Rolim —, the departure of Antonio Carlos dos Santos from the administrative and financial directorship of the state-owned company is certain. New cuts will be published in the coming days in the Official Gazette as the sweep progresses.
In yet another act, he changed command of the State’s Single Social Security Fund (Rioprevidência). For the presidency, the acting governor appointed Felipe Derbli de Carvalho Baptista, also coming from the State Attorney General’s Office (PGE). Baptista replaced Nicholas Cardoso, who was temporarily replacing Deivis Marcon Antunes.
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The decision regarding contracts and tenders, according to the text of yesterday’s decree, aims to “rationalize public expenses” and adapt them to the state’s budgetary and financial reality. The measure is part of a movement to review the administrative structure of the Executive.
The governor’s act, however, provides for exceptions, such as contracts expiring in the next 60 days or emergency situations. In these cases, release will depend on specific authorization from the Civil House Secretariat, with subsequent submission to Couto, for a final decision on resuming the process.
As O GLOBO had reported, DER published nine contracts at an expected cost of R$418.5 million in recent days. Six of them were not scheduled for bidding because they were considered emergencies by the agency: three interventions on slopes of state roads and three packages of paving works in the Metropolitan Region and in the interior.
When contacted, DER-RJ and the Cities and Infrastructure secretariats did not provide information on the list of new contracts, ongoing tenders and their values.
Couto and Castro: meeting
At the Guanabara Palace, Couto held meetings yesterday and, in the morning, met with the secretaries of the Civil House, Flávio Willeman, and the Government, Roberto Lisandro Leão. “They dealt with management issues and ongoing actions for administrative reorganization, expense rationing, budget and efficiency of the public machine”, says the state note.
Outside the official agenda, Cláudio Castro and Ricardo Couto met at around 3pm yesterday at the Court of Justice headquarters. The meeting, which was not included in their public commitments, was marked by an atmosphere of tension and demands regarding the direction of the state administration.
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According to government interlocutors interviewed by GLOBO, the initiative for the meeting came from Couto. The acting governor reportedly called Castro, requesting a face-to-face meeting to specifically discuss the process of budget cuts and job dismissals that has been implemented in recent weeks.
According to Castro’s allies, during the conversation, however, the former governor expressed dissatisfaction with the way the cuts were being carried out, complaining that the government’s current narrative gives a negative image of his administration and suggests a lack of financial control, which he disputes.
Still during the afternoon at TJ-RJ, Couto received deputies Guilherme Delaroli and Douglas Ruas, both from the PL bench, to discuss the election for president of Alerj. At the end of the afternoon, he returned to the Guanabara Palace.
