Lula has launched a federal pilot in Rio de Janeiro to coordinate policing, intelligence and inspections against organised crime. The move puts public security at the centre of Brazil’s election debate and could shape a national model.

Brazilian President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva on Friday unveiled a pilot plan to expand the federal government’s role in tackling organised crime in Rio de Janeiro, bringing a major voter issue into focus ahead of October’s presidential election.

The plan will widen existing joint operations among federal, state and municipal authorities along Rio’s key highways and in selected areas, with a stronger focus on intelligence-sharing, coordinated policing and inspections. Lula said the move could become a model for public security across Brazil if it works in Rio.

Senator Flvio Bolsonaro, Lula’s main rival and son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, and US President Donald Trump have accused Lula of not doing enough to curb organised crime groups that control large parts of Rio and remote regions such as the Amazon. Announcing the plan, Lula said, “This is a new beginning to create a new template for public security in this country.” He added, “God wanted us to begin with Rio de Janeiro, because if it works in Rio, it will work across the country.”

The measures include expanded policing, inspections, intelligence and surveillance along the state’s main logistics corridors to target cargo theft, arms trafficking and drug trafficking. The plan also aims to go after the financial networks of organised crime.

Lula said many people ask why he had not already taken responsibility for public security despite serving three terms as president. He said most public security responsibilities have been with state governments since the 1988 Constitution, which he described as a mistake that his government wants to correct.

Some observers have said Lula’s government stepped up its efforts against organised crime after Rio’s deadliest police operation last year, in which more than 120 people were killed. Polls taken afterwards showed a rise in then-governor Claudio Castro’s approval rating and strong support for the raid.

In May, Lula launched a USD 2 billion project against organised crime that included stronger action against arms trafficking, efforts to hit the finances of criminal organisations, better homicide investigations and investment in Brazil’s prison system.

On Friday, Lula also again criticised Trump’s decision earlier this year to classify the First Command of the Capital, or PCC, and the Red Command, or CV, as foreign terrorist organisations. Lula said the groups terrorise local populations but are not terrorist organisations because they are driven by profit rather than political change. Some analysts and politicians have said the classification was an attempt to interfere in Brazil’s election by making Lula appear soft on crime.

Overall, Lula’s new pilot plan seeks to give the federal government a bigger role in Rio’s fight against organised crime through joint action, intelligence and enforcement, while also turning the state into a testing ground for a wider national public security model.

With PTI Inputs