While Eduardo Paes (PSD) remains silent about running for state government next year, Rep. Eduardo Cavaliere takes a leading role in municipal agendas, little by little becoming one of the spokespersons of the mayor’s political group. In an interview with Globo, the 31-year-old lawyer expressed for the first time his dissatisfaction with President Lula (PT), of whom he is an ally. He classifies the discourse on public security as “stupid” and suggests that Planalto will rely on a non-existent “automatic alignment” for elections. For him, adopting neutrality in the national game would help the Social Democratic Party attract more support in the country. On another front, Cavaliere represents a turning point in Paes’s novel about Governor Claudio Castro (PL). He spared the president of the Guanabara Palace from personal attacks and described the operation that killed 122 people in and among Alemão as “successful.”
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You’re setting your agendas as if you were already mayor, and Paes said Rio will have the youngest mayor in history. The theater game is over, is Paes a candidate?
It is no secret that the Public Security Directorate will have a candidate. Whoever it is, the one most prepared for the task is Eduardo Paes. He is the best manager, and the only one who has the authority to make the necessary changes. Especially in the security field.
Will this nomination be in opposition to Claudio Castro?
The governor is not a candidate. Therefore, the nomination of the Social Democratic Party does not face this. Paes always maintained an institutional dialogue relationship with the ruler. At the time of last year’s election, it was of course possible to point out the differences.
But in the post-election period there were also attacks. This change in tone appears to have been a result of the residents’ positive opinion of the operation in and among Alemão. Has attacking Castro become more politically costly?
At the time of the operation, the mayor chose to do his part: he ensured that transportation, schools and health units were less affected. He’s not a public safety commentator.
But I was commenting a lot in the first months of the year. Finally, what do you think of the process?
The operation was successful. The police have an obligation to regain control of the territory. To do this, you have to use force. If there is resistance in an operation, faced with bandits armed with rifles and using tactical uniforms, weapons of war, they must be neutralized. The mayor also expressed his solidarity with the families of the only victims of the operation, who were police officers. Now, if the operation had been part of a larger public policy, and in a context consistent with the seven years of Castro’s government, the security situation would have been better. This policy is missing.
President Lula described the operation as “murder.” What do you think of the statement?
The mayor and president are allies, but they think very differently about security. This issue will be central to the elections, and the position of mayor is different from that of president and sectors of the Labor Party. We heard harsh criticism from former MP Marcelo Freixo or MP Benedetta da Silva about the process. This situation is very different from what most residents, including those living in controlled areas, believe.
What are the differences between what you believe and what the left is?
This outdated myth that a lack of social investment is the cause of security problems, defended by some sectors of the Workers’ Party and, in a certain way, by President Lula, is quite different from what we think. Public safety problems are public safety problems. We cannot fall for the argument that attacking the economic arm of organizations negates the need for land restitution. We have to attack it, and this is fundamental in security policy, but we also need to reclaim territory, and confront armed criminals.
Does taking a stand against ADPF das Favelas also fit into this context?
It’s a clear example. The mayor personally worked to overthrow the PDF, working with ministers. It has become an excuse for those who should be responsible for public safety. It has become a tool for political narratives for both sides, an ideological debate between a range of NGOs and the outsourcing of responsibilities (by the state government) to the judiciary.
Could these differences cost the alliance with the Labor Party?
If there is a consensus among the centrist and centre-right parties – the Popular Party, Uniao, the Republicans, and even sectors of the Hizb ut-Tahrir – it is that no one expects Paes to oppose President Lula. He was the only leader from the South-East of national dimension who supported him in 2022 and whom he remains an ally. But the truth is that a neutral stance in national elections will be sufficient to facilitate the consolidation of most of these alliances. What we are making clear is that the Social Democratic Party in Rio will focus on the state elections.
But the PT is relying heavily on Paes as a platform for Lula in 2026. Are they wrong?
Our feeling is that there is a certain distance on the part of President Lula and sectors of the government, which gives the perception that we are in a comfort zone with regard to Rio, as if there were an automatic alliance in 2026. This situation has caused difficulties in the Social Democratic Party, especially since the person holding this alliance is the mayor himself on the tip of his fingernail. Representatives have supported Lula in 2022 with some discomfort and are very uncomfortable for 2026.
What are the concrete cases of divergence?
One example of this is the change of headquarters of SOCIP (the Supervisory Authority for Private Insurance) from Rio to Brasilia. The mayor was not even consulted. It is a sector that represents 20,000 job opportunities. There was no shortage of appeals, including to Minister Fernando Haddad (Finance). Will they suddenly take the CVM from here without us knowing? Another thing: Rio’s representative in Planalto, Secretary Andre Siciliano, is openly campaigning for Paes’s opponents. Ask for votes, make videos.
Isn’t it a kind of cheating just because being with the Workers’ Party in Rio, a country considered Bolsonarian, deprives you of votes?
This whole list is just a “scratch”: a sector with 20,000 jobs, and the fact that Planalto’s secretary is campaigning against Eduardo Paes…
Isn’t this idea of belittling Rio the opposite of what Paes always says about Lola?
The coalition supported by the mayor is based on the president’s sensitivity towards Rio, but there are several examples to the contrary in government. To be fair: there was Gallio’s position, which was a direct decision of the president, which changed the reality in Rio and helped Brazil. Loans and PAC business carry bank interest. Even when Rio takes on government problems, such as federal hospitals or the Leopoldina station, it is always difficult.
What parties could be in Paes’s coalition?
It is necessary to have a combination that brings together various fields and regions. There are a lot of good people. Vice Luizinho (PP), important in Brasilia; Former Nova Iguaçu Mayor Rogerio Lisboa (PP); former mayor of Caxias Washington Reyes (MDB); Mayor of Belford Roxo, Márcio Canela (União); Mayor of Marica, Washington Cuawa (PT), Fabiano Horta (PT).
Suppose, what brand would you like to place in your city hall? How could I not look like a doll, a pillar of a four-term mayor?
This is for a future interview. I am very proud of the honorable mission of Deputy Mayor.