The article analyzes Eduardo Paes's shift in discourse over the years. A decade ago, Paes was a critic of media coverage of corruption scandals, arguing that reporters contributed to the criminalization of politics. During the Lava-Jato operation, of which he was a target, he used to complain about Jornal Nacional reports that showed graphic art with pipes from which money gushed and photos of investigated politicians, as well as expressing discomfort with the prominence of judges in public life.
Eight years ago, in the last Rio gubernatorial election he contested, Paes accused former judges Marcelo Bretas and Wilson Witzel of forming a tag team to defeat him at the polls. This accusation was part of his strategy to criticize the judicialization of politics.
The Eduardo Paes version 2026, running for state governor under the PSD, presents a radically different tone. In TV programs and interviews, he no longer shows concern about the criminalization of Rio politics. Instead, he calls opponents "delinquents" and promises to make deputies of the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro go through a re-education process if elected.
The article suggests that this change in stance represents a complete reversal of his previous discourse, when he defended that press coverage and judicial prominence were harmful to politics.
