Douglas Ruas, PL candidate for governor of Rio de Janeiro, stated this Tuesday (8) during an interview conducted by radio CBN, newspapers O Globo, Extra and Valor that he never had any intimate relationship with former governor Cláudio Castro, also from PL. He tried to distance himself from his party colleague when questioned about Castro's absence from electoral advertising.
Ruas declared that his closeness to Cláudio Castro was only professional in nature, differentiating himself from his opponent Eduardo Paes, PSD candidate. According to Ruas, Paes is the one who historically maintained closeness to the former governor, including exchanging "flirting on social media about Maracanã tickets, Sapucaí tickets" with Castro until recently.
The PL candidate also recalled that Eduardo Paes has historically been very close to former governor Sérgio Cabral, and that when Cabral had problems, Paes distanced himself and started accusing him. Ruas sought to use this argument to counter the criticism he receives about his connection to Castro.
When questioned about the fact that Castro does not appear in electoral advertising, Ruas responded that the former governor "is not a candidate" and that he does not maintain a current relationship with him. PL, however, is the same party as both candidates.
