Polls Show Broad Support for Rio Mega-Operation as Castro’s Approval Climbs

Overview

• Datafolha reports 40% approval for Governor Cláudio Castro, the highest since 2022, with disapproval at 34% and sharp splits by gender and 2022 vote.
• Genial/Quaest finds 64% statewide approval for the police action, 73% favoring similar operations elsewhere, and the public evenly divided on whether police should shoot or try to arrest suspects carrying rifles.
• The official toll stands at 121 dead, including four police officers, with 113 arrests and 120 seized weapons (93 rifles); authorities say 109 bodies are identified, 78 had criminal records, and 42 had outstanding warrants.
• Public security is driving rapid political moves as Castro launches a Consórcio da Paz with allied governors and the federal government advances an antifacção bill and pushes a security PEC; 59% support a federal GLO, which the Planalto declined, while a joint organized-crime office was announced.
• State officials described targets as “narcoterrorists,” a framing experts say echoes hardline international agendas, as the Defensoria and the UN call for probes into possible abuses.