In a debate held by CBN and the newspapers O Globo, Extra and Valor, the candidate for governor of Rio by the PSD, Eduardo Paes, commented on the relationship with investigated politicians and former governor Cláudio Castro. Paes defended having a "good relationship" with lawmakers and other politicians, saying that this is part of the executive position. "After the election, the person is governor of my state, I am mayor of the city, I governed as mayor with several governors, with several presidents of the republic, and with all of them I had relations," he stated.
The former mayor rejected that he was downplaying the clear demonstration of support from the president and candidate for re-election Lula. According to him, the support "is not recent" and that he has "honor" in having this backing. Paes also questioned what his real political alliance is, saying that he maintains cordial relations because he is "a likable person."
The candidate for governor of Rio also commented that Lula's support "is not recent," but that he wants to make it clear that he is not "Lula who..." (the sentence remains incomplete in the article). The debate was held with candidates for governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro, where Paes is running for the PSD.
