Eduardo Paes

He was Mayor of Rio de Janeiro from 2009 to 2016 and again from 2021 until he resigned on 20 March 2026. He was the PSD's candidate for Governor of Rio de Janeiro in the 2026 election, in which he came second to Douglas Ruas of the PL.

Career

Paes, born in Rio de Janeiro on 14 November 1969, holds a law degree from PUC-Rio. He was sub-prefect of Barra da Tijuca and Jacarepaguá from 1993 to 1996, a city councillor from 1997, a federal deputy from 1999 to 2007, municipal environment secretary and state tourism secretary. He has belonged to many parties, from the PV and PFL to the PSDB, PMDB and DEM, and has been in the PSD since 2021. He was elected mayor in 2008 and 2012, won the 2020 runoff and was re-elected in 2024 with 60.47%. He took 5.5% in the 2006 governor race and lost the 2018 runoff to Wilson Witzel. In 2026 he left office to run for governor; after the TSE annulled Anthony Garotinho's votes, he finished second with 44.16% of valid votes, InvestNews reports.

Positions

Portuguese Wikipedia gives Paes no fixed ideological label and describes a career of changing party alliances, including support for Lula in 2008 and 2022. His party, the PSD, is described by English Wikipedia as centre to centre-right and economically liberal, and its founder Gilberto Kassab has said it is neither right-wing, left-wing nor centrist. In the 2026 race he was the main rival of the PL's candidate, Douglas Ruas.

Summarised automatically from the linked sources. Wikipedia (English) · Wikipedia (Portuguese) · InvestNews · Congresso em Foco · Wikipedia (English), Social Democratic Party

Photo: Prefeitura do Rio de Janeiro, CC BY 3.0 br, Wikimedia Commons (cropped)