Former Rio de Janeiro governor Cláudio Castro (PL) has decided to withdraw his pre-candidacy for the Senate in this year's elections. The information was confirmed this Thursday (28) by the national president of the PL, Valdemar Costa Neto.
Castro informed the party leadership directly that he will not continue in the electoral race. "Rio will decide," Valdemar stated when questioned about who should replace the former governor on the party's ticket in the state.
This Wednesday, as reported by Ricardo Bruno's blogThe national leaders of the PL party have conveyed to the former governor their desire for him to withdraw from the race. The understanding is that Castro has completely lost the political conditions to run, becoming a huge electoral burden for the party. Castro's close relationship with Vorcaro has become problematic for Flávio Bolsonaro, who is struggling to distance himself from accusations of ties to the former banker.
The withdrawal comes amid a worsening political and legal situation for Castro, who was declared ineligible by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and became Target of two Federal Police operations in less than 15 days. Behind the scenes at the PL party, leaders already considered the candidacy unfeasible and assessed that his continued presence could harm the party's electoral performance in Rio de Janeiro.
Internal pressure increased following actions by the Federal Police.
According to party members who spoke to the press on condition of anonymity... metropolises, The continuation of Castro's candidacy had been generating concern, mainly due to possible negative repercussions on the electoral projects of Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) and Deputy Douglas Ruas (PL), pre-candidate for governor of the state.
Allies claim that the former governor had already been sidelined in public events and treated internally as a factor that would damage the ticket. The perception within the party was that new revelations could further aggravate his situation.
"It's over. He's in deep trouble and it's going to get worse," summarized a party leader.
The assessment gained strength after two recent operations by the Federal Police. In the most recent one, carried out on Tuesday (26), Castro was the target of searches authorized by Minister André Mendonça, of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), in an investigation related to Banco Master.
According to the Federal Police, the close relationship between Castro and businessman Daniel Vorcaro, controller of the financial institution, allegedly facilitated an investment of approximately R$ 3 billion from Rioprevidência into the bank. In his decision, Mendonça classified the investments as "reckless and lacking technical justification."
Days earlier, on May 15, another operation authorized by Minister Alexandre de Moraes investigated suspicions of favoritism towards Refit, formerly the Manguinhos Refinery, in an alleged tax fraud scheme involving the use of state public resources.
Ineligibility already jeopardized electoral plans.
Even before the Federal Police investigations, Castro was already facing difficulties sustaining his political project. In March, he resigned from the government of Rio de Janeiro on the eve of the conclusion of the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) trial that made him ineligible for abuse of political and economic power in the 2022 elections.
The strategy sought to avoid definitive impeachment and pave the way for indirect elections in the state, but ended up provoking an institutional crisis and temporarily leaving the command of the Rio de Janeiro state government in the hands of the president of the Court of Justice.
Although he appealed the decision and was still considering running in the election while the matter was under judicial review, leaders within his own party considered the chances of reversing his ineligibility to be remote.
"It's a legal matter. He is no longer eligible," declared a party leader before the withdrawal was made official.
PL discusses replacement for the ticket in Rio.
With Castro's departure, PL leaders have already begun discussions to define a new name for the Senate. The expectation within the party is that Flávio Bolsonaro will have a decisive influence in the choice of the replacement.
Among those being considered are federal deputies Carlos Jordy and Sóstenes Cavalcante, as well as the former Secretary of Civil Police of Rio, Felipe Curi. The name of Rogéria Bolsonaro, Flávio's mother, is also circulating among the possibilities being discussed internally.
The ticket put together by the party envisioned Douglas Ruas as the candidate for governor of Rio, with former mayor of Nova Iguaçu Rogério Lisboa (PP) as his running mate. The other Senate seat would be filled by former mayor of Belford Roxo Márcio Canella (União).
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