Rogério Cruz
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Rogério Oliveira da Cruz (born 1 September 1966) is a Brazilian Evangelical pastor affiliated with the
Universal Church of the Kingdom of God The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG; ; , IURD) is an international Evangelical Neo-charismatic movement, Neo-charismatic Christian denomination with its headquarters at the Temple of Solomon (UCKG), Temple of Solomon in São Paulo, B ...
, radio personality, and politician who was the mayor of
Goiânia Goiânia ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian federative units of Brazil, state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region and the 10th-larges ...
from 2021 to 2024. He was the first Black mayor of the city. Affiliated with the
Republicanos The Republicans (), formerly the Brazilian Republican Party (, PRB) and originally formed as the Municipalist Renewal Party (, PMR), is a Brazilian political party. Its electoral number, the numerical assignment for Brazilian political parties, ...
, he initially was a councilman and later vice-mayor of the city, but took over after the death of then-mayor
Maguito Vilela Luís Alberto Maguito Vilela (24 January 1949 – 13 January 2021) was a Brazilian politician who served as a Senator, and was mayor of Goiânia. Biography Vilela was a Brazilian politician and lawyer. He was Governor of Goiás from 1995 to 1998 ...
.


Early life and career

Cruz was born in
Duque de Caxias Duque is a Spanish surname meaning "duke". People Notable people with the name include: * Duque (footballer), nickname of Davi Ferreira (1926–2017), Brazilian footballer and manager * Jaime Enrique Duque Correa (1943–2013), Colombian Roman ...
,
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
in 1966. He is married to Thelma Cruz. He graduated with a degree in public management from Universidade Paulista (UNIP). He was an administrator and radio talk show host during his years with
Grupo Record Grupo Record is the third largest media company in Brazil, the company owns several television stations such as Record (television network), Record and Record News, was founded in November 1989 and belongs to the businessman and bishop Edir Mac ...
, as well as with the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, of which he is a member and pastor of. In this manner, he has experience in radio and TV on the African continent, where he was responsible for the broadcasting of
Record Internacional Record Internacional is a Brazilian pay-TV and free-to-air channel that broadcasts 24 hours via satellite and cable with digital parameters, all in Portuguese. Record Internacional is focused on transmitting programs from Record and Record N ...
in
Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
and
Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...
. He had served with the company as executive director for 16 years. In recognition of his humanitarian actions, he received the title of Honorary Associate of the Rotary Club of Goiânia in 2022.


Political career


Councilman (2012–2020)

In 2010, Cruz moved to Goiânia, where he began his political career. Elected councilman in 2012 and 2016, he had been among the 5 most voted candidates in the city. During his mandate, he was president of the Commission of Persons with Disabilities and Special Needs (PPDNE). In 2012, he was elected with 7,774 votes, the third most voted, while in 2016, he was the 4th most voted with 8,312 votes. In mid-2019, it was speculated that he would not be a candidate for council and had decided to focus exclusively on his position as a pastor with the Universal Church, which had been confirmed by a religious leader in 2020. However, amid the speculation, he became a candidate for vice-mayor for the campaign of
Maguito Vilela Luís Alberto Maguito Vilela (24 January 1949 – 13 January 2021) was a Brazilian politician who served as a Senator, and was mayor of Goiânia. Biography Vilela was a Brazilian politician and lawyer. He was Governor of Goiás from 1995 to 1998 ...
.


Mayor of Goiânia (2021–present)

Cruz and Vilela were elected during 2020 municipal elections. Vilela, however, contracted
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
and died on 13 January 2021 at Hospital Albert Einstein, where he had been hospitalized for more than 80 days due to complications from an UTI. Cruz, as a result, became mayor and effectively guarantied that the political project of Vilela would take hold and would help to develop a harmonious relationship with members of Vilela's party, including with his son
Daniel Vilela Daniel Elias Carvalho Vilela (born 23 October 1983) is a Brazilian politician serving as vice governor of Goiás since 2023. From 2015 to 2019, he was a member of the Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bic ...
and governor
Ronaldo Caiado Ronaldo Ramos Caiado (born 25 September 1949) is a Brazilian politician. An orthopedic physician trained at the School of Medicine and Surgery of Rio de Janeiro, he comes from a family landowners and politicians from Goiás. He is the grandson of ...
. Cruz became the first Black mayor in Goiânia's history. As mayor of the city, Cruz led the city's response to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and the rise in cases at the start of 2021, including closing the city's bars for the time being. Later, in February 2021, he positioned himself against more lockdowns. However, several weeks later, he joined other mayors in the metropolitan region and closed all non-essential businesses and opted to sanction an emergency line for 6 months for families that did not have any kind of formal income, called Renda Família, accompanied by new vaccines. During the same period, he began to organize work groups to revise the Director Plan of Goiânia, one of his main campaign promises. In March 2021, due to pressure from the party base, Cruz began administrative reforms, demoting central figures that were carried over from the Vilela administration, such as the Secretary of Government Andrey Azeredo, who was replaced by Arthur Bernardes de Miranda. At the time, he also began to align his administration with religious leaders who are connected to the Universal Church, as well as other Evangelical churches and politicians such as
João Campos João José Pontes Campos (born 22 September 1958 in Albufeira) is a Portuguese former middle-distance runner who competed in the 1980 Summer Olympics and in the 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of th ...
. As a consequence, by April, every politician from Vilela's party, the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), called on secretaries to collectively ask for exoneration in protest to the abandonment of government plans, as well as the suspension of contracts made by former mayor
Iris Rezende Iris Rezende Machado (22 December 1933 – 9 November 2021) was a Brazilian politician who was a member of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB). Biography Rezende made his career in the state of Goiás, being City Councillor and Mayor of G ...
.


References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Rogerio 1966 births Living people People from Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro Afro-Brazilian politicians Members of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God Mayors of Goiânia Republicans (Brazil) politicians Brazilian Pentecostal pastors Brazilian radio personalities