President said that, if the state deputies chose the governor of Rio de Janeiro, the name indicated would be “a militiaman”
The (Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro) demanded respect from the president (PT) after the PT member said that, if the House had to choose someone for the government of Rio de Janeiro, the nominee would be a militia member. In a note, the Assembly stated that “Any attempt to generalize or criminalize the Rio de Janeiro Parliament and its elected representatives is unacceptable”.
Alerj claims that it is a democratic, legitimate institution that deserves respect. In the note, the House says that the State faces historic challenges in public security, related, according to the text, to the absence of effective national policies to combat arms trafficking, open borders to organized crime and the expansion of criminal factions in the country.
“The moment demands institutional unity, balance and responsibility – and not statements that encourage political division or pre-judge institutions”, he states in a note.
Lula’s statement took place during the inauguration of the new facilities of the (Health Technological Development Center) in Rio de Janeiro, on Saturday (May 23, 2026). The president was speaking to the interim governor and licensed judge of the State Court of Justice, Ricardo Couto, when he said that, if the Assembly had to appoint the head of the state Executive, “a militiaman would come”.
At the same event at Fiocruz, Lula also asked Couto to work “to arrest all the thieves who ruled” Rio de Janeiro and that “they are part of an organized militia”.
Couto temporarily assumed the government of Rio de Janeiro amid the legal dispute over the succession of Cláudio Castro (PL-RJ). The former governor resigned from his position on March 23, one day before the resumption of the trial at the (Superior Electoral Court) that condemned him to ineligibility for electoral fraud due to abuse of political and economic power in the 2022 elections.
Before his conviction, Castro was seeking a candidacy for the Senate in Rio de Janeiro. With the TSE’s decision, however, he was ineligible for 8 years, unless eventually reversed by appeal.
Along with Castro, he was also convicted (União Brasil – RJ), then president of Alerj. The TSE ordered the revocation of Bacellar’s diploma as a state deputy and declared his ineligibility.
Let’s go complete from the note published by the Assembly on Lula’s statements:
“The Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro respects the institutions of the Republic and expects the same respect from all authorities in the country, including the President of the Republic.
“Any attempt to generalize or criminalize the Rio de Janeiro parliament and its representatives elected by the people of Rio de Janeiro is unacceptable. Alerj is a democratic, legitimate institution and deserves respect.
“Rio de Janeiro faces historic challenges in public security, many of them related to the lack of effective national policies to combat arms trafficking, open borders to organized crime and the expansion of criminal factions throughout the country.
“The moment demands institutional unity, balance and responsibility – and not statements that encourage political division or pre-judge institutions.
“We will continue working to strengthen democracy, public security and the defense of the population of the State of Rio de Janeiro”.
