Ricardo Couto, acting governor of Rio de Janeiro, signed a decree that eliminates 1,050 vacant commissioned positions in the state Executive branch structure. The measure represents the first stage of work conducted by the state Casa Civil department to review the commissioned positions structure and rationalize its distribution among government agencies.
The review identified a set of low financial value positions, many of them resulting from changes made during previous administrations. In those administrations, larger structures were divided into lower-value positions, giving rise to the so-called "puxadinhos" positions. There were functions with bonuses of just R$ 20.
Although the position value was symbolic, the appointment allowed the holder to be linked to the administrative structure and to receive, in the overall remuneration, at least the minimum wage, which is currently R$ 1,621. This automatically increased the cost for the Executive branch, even when positions remained vacant.
The decree eliminates positions distributed across different agencies and entities of the state administration, seeking to reduce expenses and optimize the Rio de Janeiro state government structure.
