07/20/2024 – 15:17
At the convention that confirmed his candidacy for re-election as mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes (PSD) set the tone for a campaign in which the favoritism indicated by the polls should not translate into calm debates.
In response to criticism he has received about public safety, especially from right-wing deputies and councilmen, Paes said it is “unacceptable” that the mayor is being given functions that are the responsibility of the state government, led by Cláudio Castro (PL), to which the critics are linked. The PL will officially announce the candidacy of former delegate and federal deputy Alexandre Ramagem on Monday, the 22nd.
“From now on, Dudu peace and love will take vacations. I can’t stand people talking about me without responding. Now, if someone hits here, they’ll hit there too,” Paes told fellow party members and supporters of allied parties.
“It is unacceptable that (opponents) come to me to question the roles they play in the state government. They think the people are stupid. They are in the state government, which appoints the police chiefs. These people have been running the state for six years. What is this talk? Do your job, return the monopoly of force to the state,” he said, anticipating the tone he will adopt in his campaign on the issue of public safety.
Paes also reiterated that he intends to give more attention to the city’s poor population, highlighted the clean-up of the City Hall’s accounts in lengthy praise of deputy Pedro Paulo (PSD), who occupied the municipal Treasury and could be chosen as vice president of the ticket, as well as the recovery of the BRT bus system and coverage of family clinics.
And, without fearing the nationalization of the dispute – one of the strategies of Ramagem’s campaign, supported by former president Jair Bolsonaro -, Paes once again cited his good relationship with president Lula.
“There is nothing I would ask Lula for Rio that he would not do. President Lula has a special affection for Rio and we will continue working together.”
The mayor of Rio also made a point of highlighting the plurality of alliances established so far and, even outside of them, the good relationship with politicians such as federal deputy Otoni de Paula, from the MDB, who attended the convention and spoke in support of Paes, even without the support of the party. According to Paes, this broad dialogue is a response to the detractors of politics, “those who think that politics should be reduced to a smaller size”.
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