“A dream come true today. I want to share this dream with three people”, says the then governor Claudio Castro () alongside a group of political allies, after taking a scenic run on a brand new athletics track. They have the RJ Nosso Sonho park in the background, opened on March 1st in São Gonçalo, metropolitan region of Rio, the second most populous city in the state, with 960 thousand inhabitants.
The three he thanks, all from his party, are the mayor of São Gonçalo, the former PM Captain Nelson (“a leader, who is transforming this city”), the federal deputy Altineu Côrtes, president of PL-RJ, vice-president of the Chamber and main leader of the group (“my president, my friend, my brother, (…) the connecting link, a pulley, that makes us move here and there but never let go”), and his then secretary of Cities, , son of the mayor (“the best secretary I have (…), who did all this work”).
With 35 thousand m², built in the area of the old São Gonçalo swimming pool, the new park is located between BR-101 and Guanabara Bay, where the city’s few (and normally non-bathing) beaches are located. It also has courts, a skate park, a children’s area, an amphitheater and, as a major attraction, a waterfall for swimming. According to the government, it cost R$53 million.
Today, just over two months after the festive inauguration, the group is weakened. Castro resigned his mandate to avoid being revoked by the TSE – which convicted him of abuse of political and economic power in the 2022 elections – and should be prevented from running for the Senate. The state deputy (União), with enormous influence in the government, was arrested and had his mandate revoked along with Castro, losing his position as president of the Legislative Assembly (Alerj).
rose in this scorched earth scenario: he was chosen as Bolsonarism’s pre-candidate for the state government and elected president of Alerj in Bacellar’s place. In theory, he would assume leadership of the Executive, since Castro’s deputy position is vacant and, according to the Constitution, the head of the Assembly is next in line. But, in a setback for Ruas and his allies, the Federal Supreme Court keeps Judge Ricardo Couto, president of the RJ Court of Justice, in office until it decides whether the election for Castro’s successor will be direct or indirect.
The soap opera scene in Nosso Sonho park helps illustrate how Ruas got there. Thanks to the partnership with Castro and Altineu –who have the city as their electoral base–, São Gonçalo has received more money in recent years than ever before. The municipality’s budget jumped from around R$1.5 billion at the beginning of the decade to R$2.5 billion, above inflation during the period, thanks in part to (in installments) the sale of Cedae, the water and sewage company, privatized in 2021.
The Castro government also directly invested substantial resources in state works in São Gonçalo, such as the Muvi urban mobility project, budgeted at R$287 million, and responded to long-standing requests from local politicians, such as the installation of a new PM battalion in the city.
Altineu Côrtes, in turn, sponsored another amount of money in amendments for the municipality. As shown by Sheetin July 2023 upon receipt of federal amendments, with R$36.2 million – despite being in the opposition, the state president of the PL negotiated third-level positions in the Lula government.
In November 2025, Altineu allocated R$92 million in commission amendments and the old secret budget for municipal works, most of the funds going to companies fined by the TCE for irregularities in works.
Boosted with state and federal funds, Mayor Captain Nelson spread works throughout São Gonçalo – with a large volume of paving and drainage, as the report found during a day in the city in the first week of May. The most eye-catching were the Imaging and Specialties Center (Ciesg), the Cancer and Heart Hospital and the RJ Nosso Sonho park.
Captain Nelson also multiplied votes. In the 2020 election, Douglas Ruas’ father narrowly won against PT member Dimas Gadelha in the second round (50.8% to 49.2%). In 2024, with the coffers fuller, he defeated the same opponent, winning in the first round by 84.5% to 10.5%.
Upon assuming his first term, in 2021, he appointed Ruas Secretary of Integrated Management and Special Projects, and since then his son has been seen behind the scenes as the de facto mayor of São Gonçalo. The right one, Captain Nelson, told the Sheet who tasked his son with developing projects and raising funds from the state and federal governments, “since São Gonçalo is a poor city, with a small budget and many problems.”
On the advice of his advisor, who denied the request for a live interview, Captain Nelson responded in writing to questions sent by the report.
“He is an excellent manager”, praised his father, who also praised the role of deputy Altineu Côrtes. “He is a partner at all times, and he immediately saw all of Douglas’ qualities.”
In 2022, Ruas was elected state deputy with the second highest vote in the state (175,977 votes, 85% of them coming from São Gonçalo). In September 2023, he was appointed Secretary of Cities by Castro.
Despite the injection of resources, São Gonçalo – where the star Vini Jr and the singers Claudinho & Buchecha were born – continues to be a needy city, a poor neighbor of the rich Niterói, which is followed on the BR-101 by those leaving the capital of Rio de Janeiro and crossing the Rio-Niterói bridge. According to the 2022 Census, Niterói has the highest per capita monthly household income in the state (R$3,577), almost triple that of São Gonçalo (R$1,209).
The Ruas’ electoral stronghold was once one of the most industrialized cities in the state in the 1940s and 1950s, receiving the nickname “Manchester Fluminense”. The current administration claims that this process was not accompanied by investments in infrastructure and that the disorderly growth and lack of incentives scared away companies, generating unemployment and transforming São Gonçalo into a dormitory city – a reputation that the city still resents and tries to chase away.
For now without the partnership of the state government – the interim Ricardo Couto has carried out an investigation into positions and expenses of the Castro administration –, São Gonçalo ironically is waiting for funds agreed upon in an agreement signed with Ruas’ main opponent in the October dispute, the former mayor of Rio (), favorite in the polls.
Since the last decade, São Gonçalo, Magé and Guapimirim have been fighting in court to be included in the so-called main oil production zone and receive more, as is the case with Niterói, Rio and Maricá (the champion of the ranking), among others. They lost in the higher courts – after Niterói appealed, creating a conflict between the neighbors.
In December, the city councils of Rio and Maricá announced an agreement with the three plaintiffs to waive part of their royalties in favor of them. The pact was signed at São Gonçalo City Hall. At the time, the management’s estimate was that, with the agreement – pending approval –, the municipality’s revenue from royalties would increase from an average of R$45 million annually to R$380 million – in a progressive increase, and with amounts subject to the international price of oil.
The signature is part of a political calculation by Paes and the mayor of Maricá, his PT ally Washington Quaquá, . But it was also a reflection of a certain truce that came into force in 2025 between the then mayor of Rio and the Castro government. Since then, with the crisis of recent months, the relationship has collapsed, to the point of Paes, in response to complaints from Ruas.
Even so, the former mayor of Rio said that the royalty agreement is maintained. “There was no electoral agreement on this. It’s fair to São Gonçalo,” Paes told Sheet.
Is it still standing even if the STF decides? “It will be maintained. The legal action has no relation to the agreement made.”
Captain Nelson was in the same vein. “We believe that political disputes will not interfere in the issue, since we are talking about the development of the entire metropolitan region.”
Religiosity and public safety are associated with the two main political leaders of this century in São Gonçalo. Aparecida Panisset, mayor for two consecutive terms (2005-2012), exploited her ties with evangelical churches, and ended up being convicted of embezzling resources in an agreement with one of these entities. São Gonçalo has a strong presence of evangelicals (according to the 2022 Census, they are 35.6% of the population compared to 35.2% Catholics), with temples of countless denominations on every corner.
Before arriving at city hall, retired PM officer Nelson Ruas dos Santos was a councilor for 15 years. He graduated during the last term to take up a seat in Alerj in 2019 – he had obtained a substitute state deputy in the 2018 election – when the incumbent, Marcos Abrahão, was arrested in the .
In addition to Douglas Ruas, Captain Nelson has another son in politics, the councilor of São Gonçalo Nelsinho Ruas, the most voted for City Council in 2024. Last December, Nelsinho’s car was hit by gunfire when he arrived at his farm. His advisors treated the episode as an attack; The Civil and Military Police said it was a traffic dispute.
Even given the mayor’s origins, security is a recurring theme in the city. Captain Nelson has been accused by residents of not fulfilling his promise to remove barricades placed by traffickers – in fact, there are several on the streets of São Gonçalo. He says that, with state and federal help, the city hall is “working day by day to change this scenario.”
Residents interviewed by the report cite improvements in the city, especially paving and street drainage, but with reservations. “The city has improved a lot. But I don’t know Douglas, I don’t see him around here. He needs to walk in the same footsteps as his father and get closer to the community. It’s no use just in name”, said caregiver Patrícia Castro.
João César Sampaio, founder of the NGO Casa do Pai and who defined himself as a “progressive evangelical”, stated: “In a city where there was nothing, this guy comes in with money and puts on makeup. I’m not his voter, but for someone who never had anything, for people with low self-esteem from a dormitory city, he ended up getting better.”
Third placed in the race for mayor in 2024, state deputy Professor Josemar (PSOL), a rare oppositionist in local politics, states that the majority of the works carried out are not structural (“flooding and coastal collapse continue”) and defines the mayor’s management as “authoritarian, which disrespects public servants, destroying the job and salary plan”.
