Rio Electoral Court Bars Garotinho From Public Campaign Funds and Debates Amid Eligibility Challenge

Rio de Janeiro’s regional electoral court on Thursday barred former Gov. Anthony Garotinho from using public campaign funds, taking part in election debates and appearing in free broadcast campaign ads while his candidacy remains under legal challenge.

The order by the Tribunal Regional Eleitoral do Rio de Janeiro, or TRE-RJ, has immediate consequences for one of the highest-profile candidates in the 2026 race for governor. Garotinho, who is running for the governorship on the Republicanos ticket, can continue to contest his candidacy for now, but the ruling cuts off core campaign tools before the court has decided whether his registration will ultimately stand.

Agência Brasil reported that the court granted a request from the coalition “Juntos para Mudar, Coragem para Reconstruir,” which backs Eduardo Paes. The coalition argued that Garotinho’s political rights are suspended because of an administrative-improbity conviction, making it improper for him to receive public campaign resources or take part in official campaign programming while the eligibility dispute is unresolved. According to Folha, the vote on the immediate restrictions was unanimous, 6-0.

The court also ordered Garotinho to return any campaign-fund money that had already been made available to him but not yet spent. It set financial penalties of 10% on any amounts transferred by his party after it was formally notified of the ruling and on any amounts used by Garotinho after that notification.

The dispute is tied to a prior conviction involving the alleged diversion of 234.4 million reais from Rio de Janeiro state’s Health Secretariat in 2005 and 2006, when Garotinho served as secretary in the administration of his wife, former Gov. Rosinha Garotinho. On Aug. 11, the Ministério Público do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, the state prosecutor’s office, said it had secured a state-court order for the definitive enforcement of the 2018 sentence, including an eight-year suspension of political rights and notice to electoral authorities.

Garotinho’s legal team said it will appeal the TRE-RJ measure to the Tribunal Superior Eleitoral, Brazil’s top electoral court. In a note reproduced by CNN Brasil, his defense argued that “A suspensão dos direitos políticos, portanto, se exauriu em 1º de agosto de 2026.” The lawyers also said they remain convinced Garotinho is fully entitled to exercise his political rights, but that argument has not yet prevailed before the Rio court.

Thursday’s decision was an interim measure, not a final ruling on Garotinho’s eligibility. The TRE-RJ still must judge the merits of his candidacy registration in a separate decision that will determine whether he can remain in the race.