Wilson Witzel

Wilson Witzel as governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro

Wilson José Witzel (born February 19, 1968 in Jundiaí ) is a Brazilian politician of the right-wing and evangelical-fundamentalist Partido Social Cristão . He was governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro in 2019/2020 .

Life

Witzel has German and Italian ancestors. In the Brazilian Navy, he achieved the officer grade lieutenant second class . Witzel received his doctorate in political science and criminal law from the Universidade Federal Fluminense . He served as a federal judge prior to his election as governor. In October 2018 he prevailed against the liberal Eduardo Paes in the gubernatorial elections on the occasion of the 2018 elections in Brazil and in 2019 he became the 63rd governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro, succeeding Luiz Fernando Pezão .

Politics as governor

An offensive against gang crime and drug trafficking was launched under Witzel with the aim of eradicating gang crime. The number of fatalities increased dramatically in the fighting in the favelas, both among gang members and uninvolved civilians, as well as among the poorly trained and poorly equipped police forces. The government is accused of violating the rule of law, such as special forces in helicopters with sniper rifles at suspects, killing children. However, Witzel only blames the gangs known as terrorists for deaths. Both large parts of the population and the police union oppose these measures. On August 28, 2020, he was removed from office on suspicion of corruption by order of the Supreme Court of Justice (Superior Tribunal de Justiça).

Witzel cabinet

His party comrade Cláudio Castro was appointed vice governor . He appointed 19 state secretaries for his state government.

Web links

Commons : Wilson Witzel  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Election program Wilson Witzel 2018 (Brazilian Portuguese)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Brésil: la police abat huit personnes dans une favela de Rio. In: rfi.fr. RFI, 2019, accessed July 22, 2019 (French). 
2. ^ Police violence in Rio. In: zdf.de. ZDFmediathek, accessed on July 22, 2019 . 
3. ↑ Chico Otavio, Daniel Biasetto: STJ afasta Witzel do governo do Rio por suspeitas de participar em esquema de corrupção na saúde , Correio do Povo , August 28, 2020.
4. ↑ Conheça os Secretarios do governador do RJ, Wilson Witzel. In: globo.com. G1, accessed July 22, 2019 (Brazilian Portuguese). 

predecessor	Office	successor
Luiz Fernando Pezão interim: Francisco Dornelles	63rd Governor of Rio de Janeiro 2019–