Video transcript
"POR QUE A IMPRENSA NÃO MOSTRA ISSO?" | Romeu Zema na CNN
112 statements · 1 politicians · November 4, 2025 · 16 min
Statements by Romeu Zema. 112 transcribed statements, with topic and stance on the ones the analysis classified.
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112 statementsFull transcript of the video. Statements the analysis classified carry topic and stance.
Desconhecido
Debra, we'll continue discussing the mega-operation that left 121 dead in Rio de Janeiro and that has mobilized, has been mobilizing, the public and political debate in the country with an important interview.
Desconhecido
We're going to speak with the governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema, of Partido Novo, one of the governors who most... acted last week in support of the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudio Castro.
Desconhecido
Governor, good afternoon.
Desconhecido
It's a pleasure to have you here on CNN 360.
Desconhecido
You announced the creation of what you called the Consórcio da Paz, which brings together... essentially, by political-ideological alignment, governors who oppose the federal government, governors linked to the right.
Desconhecido
Since the announcement of this consortium, this group of governments, on Thursday until today, what concrete progress has been made?
Desconhecido
Is there already any concrete action by these state governments in support of the Rio de Janeiro authorities in confronting organized crime?
Good afternoon, Yuri.
Good afternoon, Débora, and to everyone who is watching us.
It's a pleasure to be with you.
Well, Yuri, we in the south-southeast consortium, COSUD, from the start have had a public security group, and that group has led our security forces to work in a more coordinated and integrated way.
The south-southeast consortium has a very strong similarity with the central-west states, which also have their own consortium.
And what we decided at our meeting in Rio de Janeiro is that we will combine these efforts — COSUD, the south-southeast, together with the central-west states.
Even before this entire operation in Rio de Janeiro, there were already many cooperative operations, like Minas Gerais with Goiás, like Minas Gerais with São Paulo, and so on.
And these efforts will be intensified from now on.
And we made it very clear to Governor Cláudio that if he needs any reinforcement, and if he faces, once again, what is likely and, unfortunately, a refusal from the federal government, we, the States, are available, within what we can, to send some reinforcement equipment, to send a reinforcement contingent to carry out operations to combat organized crime, which is the greatest cancer Brazil has today.
Desconhecido
Governor, good afternoon.
Desconhecido
Débora speaking to you here from Brasília.
Desconhecido
Governor, I'd like you to address with us this issue of the federal government having rushed to have members criticize
Desconhecido
the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudio Castro, and your mobilization, saying that this is not how you confront organized crime — killing people and going up the hill — but rather with intelligence, operations to suffocate the financial side of organized crime.
Desconhecido
In your assessment, how do you see this politicization of this mega-operation?
Well, Débora, the federal government is at minimum naive and is romanticizing the problem.
A criminal who has a war arsenal, you don't fight him by bringing dialogue, by bringing roses.
The police, the security forces of Rio de Janeiro were met there with assault rifles.
So much so that there were four casualties — four heroes perished in the operation of October 28.
And yesterday, the day before yesterday, a survey was conducted.
The greatest approval, Débora, among those who followed this operation, comes from those who live there, in the midst of this terror, this extortion.
Those who live in those communities, Débora, today... pay more for electricity, for water, for the internet, for app usage, for ice.
They are constantly threatened, expelled from their homes.
Anyone who has any commercial activity there, productive activity, needs to pay a monthly fee.
This is total occupation of territory.
And it seems the federal government keeps saying that Brazil needs to be sovereign — is there any greater loss of sovereignty than this, barricades that prevent the entry of public security forces?
So we have to fight it that way.
Now, it's logical that financially choking them complements these actions, but what needs to be done, Débora, and which the federal government... is not doing, and that even makes me suspect there are people involved there, is to declare these criminal organizations equivalent to terrorist organizations.
On the day that is done, we'll have a much more effective way to fight, because then the Federal Police and the Army will have to contribute.
Other countries will choke them financially because a terrorist cannot move resources on the international market.
Then yes, we will be acting with intelligence.
Now, the Rio de Janeiro operation also involved a lot of intelligence work.
Proof of that is that no innocent person lost their life.
Only criminals and, unfortunately... four military personnel.
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