Rodrigo Maroni

Rodrigo Maroni (born 21 July 1981) is a Brazilian politician, as well as a yoga instructor and animal rights activist.[1] He has spent his political career representing Rio Grande do Sul, having served in the state legislature since 2019.

Rodrigo Maroni
Maroni in 2011
State Deputy for Rio Grande do Sul
Assumed office
1 February 2019
Vereador of Porto Alegre
In office
1 January 2015 – 17 December 2018
Personal details
Born (1981-07-21) 21 July 1981
Porto Alegre, Brazil
Political partyPROS (2020–)
PODE (2018–2020)
PL (2016–2018)
PCdoB (2011–2018)
PT (2007–2011)
PSOL (2005–2007)
PT (1998–2005)

Personal life

Rodrigo Maroni was born on 21 July 1981 in Porto Alegre, Brazil.[2] He identifies as a Buddhist and was a yoga instructor prior to entering politics.[3] In 2019 he married public defender Isabel Wexel.[4] Previously he had been in a relationship with journalist and politician Manuela d'Ávila.[5]

Maroni identifies as an animal rights activist, a key theme in his political campaigns.[1]

In 2017 Maroni claimed to have been a victim of an assassination attempt. While he was driving to deliver a dog from an animal shelter, a couple on a motorcycle followed him and started shooting at him. After speeding up to avoid them he ultimately crashed his car, and hid behind a group of trees until he was sure the assailants were gone.[3]

Political career

Maroni first entered politics in 1998 when joining the Workers' Party. He remained a party member until 2005.[6]

Maroni ran for the municipal council in his home city of Porto Alegre in 2012, as a member of the Communist Party of Brazil. He won 2,861 votes but was not elected.[7] In January 2015, he was appointed to the municipal council of Porto Alegre to fill the vacancy of fellow Communist Party member João Derly, who had been elected as a federal deputy.[7]

In March 2016, he joined the Party of the Republic with the intention to run for mayor of Porto Alegre.[8] However, in July 2016, federal deputy Giovani Cherini assumed the state party's leadership, removed Maroni from the municipal directory, and forced him to abandon his candidacy for mayor. In reaction, Maroni angrily classified Cherini as "a colonialist and authoritarian".[9] In the 2016 municipal election he was reelected to the position of councilor, coming in as the fourth-place candidate with 11,770 votes.[10]

In September 2016, Maroni courted national attention and controversy when he presented a bill proposing life imprisonment to anyone who is found guilty of cruelty to animals.[11] He also submitted bills proposing that animal killers and rapists use electronic collars, and that humans who commit sexual violence against animals be forcibly chemically castrated.[12] Maroni's proposals were widely criticized as unrealistic and extreme, with many legal experts noting that life sentences and forced castration were deemed illegal under the Constitution of Brazil.[13]

In May 2017, Maroni announced that he would be running for president in the 2018 election, claiming that "animals can have their first candidate for President of the Republic".[14] However, his campaign for president never formally materialized. In September 2017, Maroni again switched parties to join Podemos.[15] In the 2018 elections, he was elected as a state deputy to the Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Sul with 26,449 votes.[16]

In September 2019, he was elected to be the regional president of the Podemos party in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. In late November 2019 Maroni once again announced his intention to run for mayor of Porto Alegre.[17] However, in March 2020, the national president of Podemos, Álvaro Dias, removed Maroni from his position as president of the state's party, and replaced him with Lasier Martins.[18] After being deposed as state party's president, Maroni left the party to join the Republican Party of the Social Order.[19]

References
  1. Ferraz, Mateus (11 September 2017). "Vereador de Porto Alegre que atua na defesa dos animais troca de partido". GaúchaZH (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  2. "Rodrigo Maroni". Estadão (in Portuguese). Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  3. "'Eles acharam que tinham me executado', diz vereador sobre suposta tentativa de homicídio". Sul21 (in Portuguese). 6 May 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  4. "Impedido de se casar na Assembleia, deputado transfere cerimônia para a Praça da Matriz". GaúchaZH (in Portuguese). 10 July 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  5. Rivas, Lucas (12 November 2020). "Ausência de propostas e acusação de machismo marcam debate em Porto Alegre" (in Portuguese). Estadão. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  6. Rivas, Lucas (19 October 2020). "Quem são os candidatos a prefeito de Porto Alegre nas eleições 2020" (in Portuguese). Estadão. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  7. Darros, Guilherme (7 October 2015). "Três vereadores se elegem e mudam de casa parlamentar". Jornal do Commercio (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  8. "Vereador Rodrigo Maroni busca apoios para se lançar à Prefeitura de Porto Alegre". 6 April 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  9. Meneghetti, Marcus (22 July 2015). "Dirigentes do PR entram em confronto por poder". Jornal do Commercio (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  10. "Veja os 36 vereadores eleitos em Porto Alegre" (in Portuguese). G1 Globo. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  11. Galindo, Rogério (16 September 2016). "Vereador propõe prisão perpétua para quem for sarcástico com animais" (in Portuguese). Gazeta do Povo. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  12. Bartolini, Rodolfo (5 September 2016). "PL pede pena perpétua para sarcásticos com animais" (in Portuguese). Noticias Band. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  13. Germano, Paulo (16 September 2016). "Vereador Rodrigo Maroni responde à coluna "Como ser sarcástico com um cachorro"". GaúchaZH (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  14. "Rodrigo Maroni se lança a 'presidente da República pela causa animal'" (in Portuguese). Sul21. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  15. "Maroni muda de legenda pela quarta vez e se filia ao Podemos". Jornal do Commercio (in Portuguese). 12 September 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  16. "CANDIDATO Rodrigo Maroni 19999, Vereador, PODE" (in Portuguese). Gazeta do Povo. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  17. "Rodrigo Maroni lança pré-candidatura à prefeitura de Porto Alegre pelo Podemos". Rádio Guaíba (in Portuguese). Correio do Povo. 30 November 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  18. "Intervencao do Podemos" (in Portuguese). O Sul. 14 March 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  19. Gafforelli, Giovane (16 March 2020). "Maroni ingressa no Pros e firma pré-candidatura à Prefeitura de Porto Alegre". Rádio Guaíba (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 December 2020.
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