RJ: Cláudio Castro opens a platform for Lula in the Baixada – 06/15/2023 – Politics

The governor of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudio Castro (PL-RJ), opened a podium for President Lula (PT) and discusses federal government investment in the Baixada Fluminense, one of the main strongholds of former President Jair Bolsonaro and a target of interest from fluminense petistas.

The invitation and the negotiations with the Union held on Wednesday (12) and Thursday (13) are part of the gradual approximation of Castro, who supported Bolsonaro last year, to the president.

The governor invited Lula to participate in the inauguration, in July, of the Rio Imagem da Baixada Fluminense, in Nova Iguaçu, one of his main works for Health. Castro also met with Minister Rui Costa (Casa Civil) to discuss the transfer of federal funds to bus lanes in the same region.

Rio de Janeiro, the third largest electoral college in the country, was one of the few states not reconquered by the PT in last year’s presidential victory – the other was Amapá, which has the 26th electorate.

Baixada Fluminense is one of the areas where Lula struggled to gain political support in last year’s election. The region has an evangelical population that strongly adhered to Bolsonarism.

Lula’s only ally in the region is the mayor of Belford Roxo, Waguinho (Republicans), whose wife, Daniela Carneiro (União Brasil-RJ), is threatened with resignation due to pressure from União Brasil.

Castro’s administrative approximation is seen among PT members as a way of trying to gain a new entry into the region. At the same time, it is known that it is not yet an ally.

The nods from the governor of Rio de Janeiro are accompanied by demands. In addition to Transbrasil, a project estimated at BRL 1 billion, Castro has been requesting a review of the Tax Recovery Regime and a solution to competition between Santos Dumont and Galeão airports.

After two years with a generous budget thanks to the concession of basic sanitation services, the state is starting to show new signs of financial fragility.

Auxiliaries point out that Castro maintains his support for Bolsonaro. But remember that, in last year’s campaign, he always justified the endorsement because of the support given by the federal government to the state. The same, they suggest, could happen to Lula.

The governor maintains a tense relationship with the leadership of the PL in a tussle over the candidacy decisions for the city halls of Rio de Janeiro next year. Castro has been seeking to distance himself from Bolsonarist names, which maintain strength within the Fluminense directory.

Throughout the campaign, Castro already indicated that he had no interest in maintaining a tense relationship with Lula in case of victory. He avoided criticizing the petista in interviews and platforms, seeking only to justify the reason for his support for Bolsonaro.