He was 32 years old when he last ran for a majority position in Ceará, the state where he has his political roots. He was elected governor in 1990 for the , a position that would later catapult him to his first national showcase: the Ministry of Finance of the then president .
Now, at 67, Ciro is trying to regain political protagonism in his state and shake up the electoral chessboard in Ceará. The return to the toucan nest will be made official this Wednesday (22) in a political event in Fortaleza.
A gap of 35 years separates these two Cyruses. During this period, he went through four parties –PPS, PSB, Pros and – and ran for four presidential elections, being defeated in 1998, 2002, 2018 and 2022. Even without success at the polls, he established himself as a political leader with a national presence.
After being defeated in 2022, when he won and left the polls with 3% of the votes, Ciro announced that he would no longer contest elections. But everything is heading towards him not fulfilling the promise he made to himself and his voters.
The tendency, allies point out, is for him to be the opponent of governor Elmano de Freitas (PT) in next year’s election to try to interrupt a cycle of PT governments that began in 2015 with the election of , now the government’s Minister of Education (PT).
In this way, it makes a movement seeking to rebuild its political capital based on its electoral base. To reposition itself in the political game, it tries to create unity among the opposition parties, including even the .
The movement had been maturing since last year, when its main allies supported the federal deputy (PL) in the second round in Fortaleza. The rapprochement was intensified in May this year, with the former minister meeting with deputies opposing the governor.
On that occasion, Ciro signaled for the first time that he would consider a possible candidacy for the government and a probable candidacy for the Senate of state deputy and pastor Alcides Fernandes (PL), father of André Fernandes.
“There is a majority feeling in the opposition that it is necessary to join forces, presenting a single and strong platform against the governor”, says the former mayor of Fortaleza Roberto Cláudio, a close ally of Ciro who will join the .
At the same time that he began to fraternize with past adversaries, Ciro expanded political differences with former allies such as Camilo Santana and even with his own brother, senator Cid Gomes (PSB), with whom he has been separated since 2022.
Cid, who governed Ceará between 2007 and 2014, has stated that a possible candidacy by Ciro will create an “absolutely embarrassing” situation. The senator is an ally of Elmano de Freitas and should support the governor’s re-election.
Asked about Ciro’s affiliation with the PSDB, Cid stated in a press interview that everyone follows the path they want: “No one should comment on other people’s lives. We should strive to do the best for the people. You will never see me speaking ill of an opponent, much less my brother.”
Among Ciro’s allies, a possible candidacy for government is seen as a movement capable of changing the state’s electoral board.
Names such as former deputy Captain Wagner (União Brasil) and deputy André Fernandes (PL) signaled that they are not opposed to an alliance. The main point of resistance is senator Eduardo Girão (Novo), who launched himself as a pre-candidate for governor and remembers that Ciro does not have a trajectory on the right.
The governor’s allies minimize the impact of the former minister’s entry into the state dispute: “I would really like to see Ciro Gomes as an opposition candidate in Ceará, with all his arrogance and inconsistency,” said Chagas Vieira, head of the government’s Civil House, to .
Elmano works to expand his alliances and tries to bring to his platform the federation formed by , which is already his ally in the state, and União Brasil, which is divided.
Another party that has become closer to the governor is the PDT, from which Ciro asked to disaffiliate last week. The party is part of Lula’s base and has regained bridges with the PT in Ceará.
Ciro Gomes is affiliated with the PSDB, focusing on the dispute over the government of Ceará. There is a concern to avoid speculation that Ciro could be a candidate for president for the fifth time.
The articulation for Ciro’s return to the party was led by former governor Tasso Jereissati, who was his political godfather at the beginning of his career.
