The president of the Rio de Janeiro Legislative Assembly, Rodrigo Bacelar (Uniao Brasil), has become the leading name in Rio de Janeiro’s right-wing party to run for state government in 2026.
The statement expected that Claudio Castro (PL) would leave office to run for the Senate, paving the way for the representative to take over the Guanabara Palace for six months, and enter the elections with the machine in hand.
The plan began to unravel in 2024 and exploded on Wednesday (3), when Basilar was arrested by federal police.
Born in Campos dos Goytacazis in 1980, the MP is a tax lawyer and began his political career under the leadership of his father, former Chancellor Marcos Baselar.
Before his election, he held positions in state government, such as the presidency of Fundação Estadual do Norte Fluminense. He was elected state representative in 2018 by Solidariedade and re-elected in 2022 by PL, when he received almost 98 thousand votes.
His expectations increased in 2020, when he spoke about the impeachment of Wilson Witzel, which led Claudio Castro to the leadership of the country. The movement brought him closer to the ruler and helped strengthen his political base.
In 2023, amid the PL split, he was elected president of Alerj. Two years later, he was returned to office unanimously in an agreement that united PL, PT, Psol, PDT and PSD, something unprecedented in the Chamber of Deputies.
The relationship with Castro soured in 2024, when Bacelar took over as head of government on an interim basis and fired Transportation Secretary Washington Reyes, without consulting the governor. The gesture angered Bolsonaro’s movement in Rio – including figures such as Flavio Bolsonaro (PL), Carlos Porteño and Sostines Cavalcanti – and diminished its space within the right. However, until the middle of this year, his name remained Castro’s favorite in a potential dispute against Mayor Eduardo Paes (PSD) for the government.
Bacellar is also the target of parallel investigations. In August, the Supreme Council of Rio’s Public Ministry authorized an investigation into possible signs of asset development inconsistent with their income, including the operation of a slaughterhouse in Campos financed by AgeRio.
The Public Prosecution suspects that he was a silent partner in the project, which the MP denies. He was also cited in 2010 in an investigation into an alleged leasing scheme by Cambuci City Hall.
This Wednesday’s arrest makes him the second president of the Allerg party to be arrested while in office, repeating the precedent of Jorge Picciani (MDB), who was arrested in 2017, and putting the House of Representatives at the heart of a political crisis on the eve of the 2026 elections.
The National Front claims that Bacelar participated in the leaking of classified information about the operation that arrested former MP Thiego Raymundo dos Santos, TH Goyas, on suspicion of comando Vermelho mediating the negotiations. According to investigators, the head of Al-Arj was aware of the procedure in advance and ordered the then parliamentarian to delete the evidence.
The defense denies any attempt at obstruction and claims that it “explained everything that was asked of it.”
In the arrest order, Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court, wrote that there was “strong evidence” that Basselar was part of a criminal organization. The PGR (Prosecutor General’s Office) stated that the measure seeks to ensure public order in the face of suspected infiltration of illicit interests into the country, a scenario he described as a “parallel state.”
Another element that the National Front pointed out was the reaction of the government and the Al-Arj leadership after the launch of Operation Zargun. According to investigators, Basilar and Governor Claudio Castro spoke of a “quick military maneuver” to remove T.E. Goyas from his position, which the government denies.
In a memorandum issued on Thursday (4), Castro said that he was following the case with “institutional interest”, said that he trusted the technical guidance of the STF and PF and stressed that the executive had already sent all the required clarifications.
Al-Arj’s first session after his arrest lasted only a few minutes. The session was closed without mentioning the issue, and the general session was empty. The House of Representatives is waiting for an official communication from the STF to decide whether to put the abolition of the prison to a vote, a step enshrined in the state constitution and adopted in episodes such as the Cadia Velha and Forna da Onca operations.