Marcelo Freixo

Marcelo Ribeiro Freixo ([maʁˈsɛlu ʁiˈbejɾu ˈfɾejʃu]) is a Brazilian politician and teacher affiliated to the Workers' Party (PT). He had served as a federal deputy for the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), and was formerly chairman of the Defence of Human Rights and Citizenship Commission on the Rio de Janeiro Legislative Assembly.^[2]

Marcelo Freixo
Freixo in 2022
Chair of the Brazilian Tourist Board
Incumbent
Assumed office 12 January 2023
President	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Minister	Daniela Carneiro Celso Sabino
Preceded by	Gilson Machado Neto
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office 1 February 2019 – 12 January 2023
Constituency	Rio de Janeiro
State Deputy of Rio de Janeiro
In office 1 January 2007 – 1 January 2019
Constituency	At-large
Personal details
Born	Marcelo Ribeiro Freixo (1967-04-12) 12 April 1967 (age 57) São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil[1]
Political party	PT (1986–2005; 2023–present)
Other political affiliations	PSOL (2005–2021) PSB (2021–2023)
Spouse	Antonia Pellegrino ​ (m. 2019)​
Children	2
Alma mater	Fluminense Federal University (BA)
Profession	Historian politician teacher television presenter

Freixo gained national attention when he presided over a parliamentary inquiry commission on police militias in Rio de Janeiro, having a character inspired on him in the Brazilian film Elite Squad: The Enemy Within, directed by José Padilha.^[3][4]

He ran for mayor of Rio de Janeiro twice, in 2012 and 2016, having as vice-mayor candidate on the ticket in 2016 the lawyer and professor at UFRJ Luciana Boiteux. He ended in second in both the run-offs, losing the first to Eduardo Paes from PMDB, and the second to the PRB candidate Marcelo Crivella.^[5][6]

On 16 June 2021, Freixo left PSOL for PSB, in preparation for the 2022 Rio de Janeiro gubernatorial election.^[7] He left the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) and joined the Workers' Party (PT) in January 2023.^[8]

References

1. "Divulgação de Candidaturas e Contas Eleitorais". TSE (in Portuguese).
2. Assembleia Legislativa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (2014). "Comissão de Defesa dos Direitos Humanos e Cidadania". Alerj. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
3. "Freixo o verdadeiro fraga | Superinteressante". Superinteressante. 2011-03-25. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
4. Phillips, Dominic (2012-09-17). "How Elite Squad 2 Took Control of Rio Mayor's Race". Bloomberg View. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
5. "Paes é reeleito prefeito do Rio". Eleições 2012 no Rio de Janeiro (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2012-10-07. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
6. "Resultado das Eleições 2016 - Prefeito - Rio de Janeiro-RJ | Gazeta do Povo". Gazeta do Povo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2016-10-31.
7. CartaCapital (2021-06-11). "Freixo anuncia que vai para o PSB e pede apoio de Ciro a Lula". CartaCapital (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-06-11.
8. "Marcelo Freixo anuncia saída do PSB e filiação ao PT". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2023-01-04. Retrieved 2024-04-26.

Chamber of Deputies (Brazil)
Preceded by José Guimarães	Chamber Minority Leader 2021–2022	Succeeded by Alencar Santana
Government offices
Preceded by Gilson Machado Neto	Chair of the Brazilian Tourist Board 2023–present	Incumbent