Eduardo Paes tours Porto do Açu and outlines Rio state pre‑campaign priorities

Pre‑candidate for the Rio de Janeiro governorship, Eduardo Paes visited the Porto do Açu complex in São João da Barra on 23 June. He highlighted that the port handles 40 % of Brazil’s oil exports, 50 % of imported natural gas and moves 89 million tonnes of cargo annually, accounting for 3 % of the nation’s foreign trade worth US$16 billion. Paes praised the site’s growth, noting its 30 companies, 11 terminals and the construction of Latin America’s largest thermoelectric park, and called for state support to improve road access and accelerate the region’s role in Brazil’s energy transition.

A few days later, speaking in Cabo Frio, Paes set the tone for his pre‑campaign, promising “less political fighting, more conversation with mayors” and pledging to treat the interior as a protagonist. He advocated investment in the fisheries chain, the creation of a hydro‑waterway, tourism as a state policy, and the development of the “Ilha dos Dinossauros” project as a model of wealth generation combined with environmental preservation. Paes also vowed to combat organized crime’s influence in politics and to professionalise public security management.