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Rodrigo Neves

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Rodrigo Neves
Mayor of Niterói
In office
1 January 2013 – 31 December 2020
Vice-mayorAxel Grael (2013–2016)
Comte Bittencourt (2017)
Vacant (2017–2020)
Preceded byJorge Roberto Silveira
Succeeded byAxel Grael
Executive Secretary of the City of Niterói
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 January 2023
Preceded byBira Marques
State deputy for Rio de Janeiro
In office
1 January 2007 – 31 December 2012
Councilman of Niterói
In office
April 1998 – 31 January 2007
Personal details
Born
Rodrigo Neves Barreto

(1976-06-28) 28 June 1976 (age 48)
São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Political partyPT (1996–2016)
PV (2016–2017)
PDT (2017–present)
Children3
Alma materFluminense Federal University

Rodrigo Neves Barreto (born 28 June 1976) is a Brazilian politician affiliated with the Democratic Labour Party (PDT). He was the mayor of Niterói from 2013 to 2020, currently serving as the executive secretary for the city. He was also a city councilor in Niterói from 1998 to 2007, state deputy in Rio de Janeiro, and state secretary of Social Assistance.[1]

Biography

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Early life

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Neves was born in 1976 in São Gonçalo. He graduated with a degree in social sciences from Fluminense Federal University in Niterói. During this time he became affiliated with the Secondary School Students Union of Niterói (UNES), where he defended demands such as free transportation passes for students, and was the leader of the movement for a strengthening of political ethics that became known as the "caras pintadas" movement in Niterói.[2]

He is married and has three children.[3]

Political career

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First affiliated with the Workers' Party (PT), Neves was a councilman in Niterói beginning in April 1998, assuming the position as a substitute to João Batista Petersen Mendes, who died that year. He was reelected for the 2005–2008 term with 6,086 votes, being the most voted for in that election. In 2006, he became a candidate for state deputy, being elected with 41,288 votes.[4] He was a candidate for mayor in Niterói for the first time in 2008, reaching second position, losing to the PDT candidate, former mayor Jorge Roberto Silveira.[5] He was reelected in 2010 with 38,856 votes.[6] In 2011, Neves became the state secretary of Social Assistance and Human Rights, and was reelected as mayor in 2012 with 132,001 (52.55%) votes, defeating Felipe Peixoto [pt] of the PDT in the runoff.[7]

In 2015, he left the PT and then affiliated himself with the Green Party (PV) in anticipation for the 2016 election, winning reelection as mayor in a rematch against Felipe Peixoto (PSB) and state deputy Flavio Serafini (PSOL). He was reelected with 130,473 votes in the second round.[8] On 6 May 2017, Neves inaugurated the Charitas-Cafubá tunnel that connects the South Zone of the Oceanic Region of Niterói. Considered a project of great importance for urban mobility in the region, the tunnel took approximately a year and 6 months to complete.[9][10] At the end of 2017, he again left the PV and subsequently affiliated with the PDT to assume a position with the coordinating campaign of Ciro Gomes for his 2018 presidential run.[11][12]

In October 2020, two months after the end of his term, Neves received a prize of recognition by the United Nations, Congresso Smart City and Fira de Barcelona for his role in the city of Niterói's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13][14]

On 23 July 2022, Neves officially became the PDT candidate for the gubernatorial election in Rio de Janeiro that year, with the former president of the Order of Attorneys of Brazil Felipe Santa Cruz [pt] as his vice-governor pick. Together they formed the electoral ticket consisting of the PDT, Social Democratic Party, Patriota and Agir, also receiving informal support from Cidadania despite their official support for Marcelo Freixo. Neves also received independent endorsements from various leaders of the PT, PSB, PCdoB, and Solidariedade.[15]

Neves came in third place in the election, with 672,291 votes (8%). Niterói was the only city in the state where the winning candidate Cláudio Castro (PL) did not win, losing in a close race to Neves. In the second round of the general elections that year, he coordinated the presidential campaign of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in Niterói, which came to be the lone city in the Greater Rio de Janeiro area where Lula won over the incumbent president, Jair Bolsonaro (PL).[16][17][18]

In January 2023, Neves was tapped by current mayor Axel Grael to become executive secretary of the city of Niterói, a position that Grael exercised during Neves' second term as mayor.[19]

Allegations of corruption

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In April 2014, the Public Accounts court of Rio de Janeiro state fined Neves for irregularities in the aiding of flood victims as state secretary in April 2010. He was penalized for failure in aid and in supervision of the allocation of public goods with the Morar Seguro program between August and December 2011.[20]

On 10 December 2018, Neves was arrested as part of Operação Alameda due to corruption accusations and the creation of organized crime groups in a supposed scheme that would involve bribery payments by business owners from the transport industry and public agents from the city.[21] The complaint made by the Public Ministry of the State of Rio de Janeiro (MP-RJ) alleged that between 2014 and 2018 there would have been approximately $10.9 million reais diverted from public coffers made towards illegal payments. The complaint was an outgrowth of Operation Car Wash investigations in the state, where the MPF-RJ shared the denunciations from business owners and defendant Marcelo Traça, ex-president of transport administration agency Fetranspor, who made the confession, and for proof authorized by the courts.[22][21]

On 12 March 2019, the state criminal court (TJERJ) granted habeas corpus to Neves and 4 other accused individuals, though with precautionary measures, such as not being able to leave the state of Rio de Janeiro or Brazil, the confiscation of their passports and the prohibitng of contact between the accused or with witnesses listed by the Public Prosecutor's Office. They also could not leave the city of Niterói for more than 8 days without the explicit consent of the judge. Subsequently, on 13 March 2019, Neves was released to reassume the position as mayor.[22][21][23] Neves reasserted his innocence and alleged that at the time he did not have the chance to defend himself. The charges were dropped by the court in July 2022 for lack of evidence.[22][21][24]

In December 2020, the Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) denounced Neves and 8 other people for corruption and defrauding the city's procurement program.[25] The lawsuit, brought to a regional court, detailed 2 criminal schemes that began in 2013: for the aforementioned corruption and fraudulent charges (in the public record and with BRT Transoceânica) and with individual payments to judges at the Public Accounts Court of the State of Rio de Janeiro (TCE/RJ).[26] According to the court, audits identified irregularities with the purchases and additional contracts. For these, he and the other defendants were ordered to pay $60 million reais in damages into public coffers.[27]

References

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  1. ^ Rodrigo Neves, do PV, é reeleito prefeito de Niterói, RJ G1. (October, 2016).
  2. ^ "DEPUTADO Rodrigo Neves". ALERJ (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  3. ^ "PDT confirma Rodrigo Neves como candidato ao Governo do RJ". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 23 July 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Eleições 2006 - Apuração - Rio de Janeiro - Deputado Estadual". Folha Online (in Brazilian Portuguese). 10 November 2006. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  5. ^ "Eleições 2008 - Apuração - Niterói (RJ)". Folha Online (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2008. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Eleições 2010 - apuração 1° turno - Rio de Janeiro". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Rodrigo Neves é eleito prefeito de Niterói, no RJ". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 28 October 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Rodrigo Neves, do PV, é reeleito prefeito de Niterói, RJ". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 30 October 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Túnel Charitas-Cafubá é aberto ao tráfego". A Tribuna RJ. 6 May 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-05-15. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Túnel Charitas-Cafubá já recebeu mais de 2 milhões de veículos". Portal Cidade de Niterói (in Brazilian Portuguese). 7 August 2017. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  11. ^ A. Tribuna. ""Serei um soldado do partido", diz Rodrigo Neves" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Prefeito de Niterói, Rodrigo Neves, vai se filiar ao PDT". Extra Online (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  13. ^ A. Tribuna. "Niterói recebe prêmio da ONU por combate a pandemia da Covid-19" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  14. ^ Brasil de Fato (15 October 2020). "Niterói (RJ) ganha prêmio das Nações Unidas por atuação contra o coronavírus". Brasil de Fato. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  15. ^ "PDT confirma Rodrigo Neves como candidato ao Governo do RJ". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  16. ^ G1, Globo (3 October 2022). "Cláudio Castro é reeleito governador do RJ no primeiro turno com quase 60% dos votos". G1. Retrieved 23 August 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Dias, Laís (3 October 2022). "Reeleito governador, Cláudio Castro só perdeu em Niterói". Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  18. ^ Davila, Vitor (30 October 2022). "Lula vence em Niterói". Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  19. ^ "Rodrigo Neves será o novo secretário executivo de Niterói". A Seguir (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  20. ^ Onofre, Renato (7 April 2014). "Rodrigo Neves e Jorge Roberto Silveira são multados pelo TCE". O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  21. ^ a b c d "Polícia do Rio prende prefeito de Niterói em nova fase da Lava Jato". R7.com (in Brazilian Portuguese). 10 December 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  22. ^ a b c "Esquema em Niterói era 'reprodução adaptada' da prática usada pela Fetranspor, diz MP". O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 10 December 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  23. ^ "Rodrigo Neves, prefeito de Niterói, deixa a prisão". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  24. ^ "Processo por improbidade contra Rodrigo Neves é extinto pela Justiça". O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  25. ^ "Denunciado por fraude em licitação, prefeito de Niterói é investigado por esquema semelhante no RJ". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 25 December 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  26. ^ "MPF denuncia Rodrigo Neves por corrupção e fraude em licitações em Niterói". Extra (in Brazilian Portuguese). 18 December 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  27. ^ Martini, Paula (18 December 2020). "MPF denuncia prefeito de Niterói por corrupção e propina ao TCE". CNN Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 23 August 2023.
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