Candidate for president in four elections, former minister and former governor Ciro Gomes (PSDB) promised, this Saturday (25), to decide by the end of the first half of May whether he will run for the Presidency of the Republic or the government of Ceará in 2026.
Even without confirmation, the tone of the speech was predominantly national, citing topics such as the economy, the judiciary and the polarization between PT and PL. Ciro spoke to supporters during a meeting of PSDB pre-candidates, in the former minister’s first public agenda after receiving the formal invitation from the party’s national president, federal deputy Aécio Neves, to head the party’s presidential ticket.
Consideration of the invitation
When justifying his willingness to return to the national dispute, Ciro revisited the 2022 defeat, when he had his worst performance in the four presidential elections he contested. The politician said he had been prevented from competing under fair conditions and that, if it weren’t for the “gravity of the moment”, he would avoid politics. Ciro also stated that he felt “obliged by the appeal” of his party to consider the invitation.
“In the last election, I felt deeply humiliated by a fascist campaign that denied me my right to participate. And if I had any sense, I wouldn’t go any closer to this side-by-side fascist political court, neither to congratulate nor to offer condolences. In this election, it’s president or governor. One of the two. At the end of the first half of May, I’ll make the decision”, he stated.
Aécio Neves’ absence did not go unnoticed. The national president of the PSDB, who on April 14 made a public invitation to Ciro to head the presidential ticket, sent a video message to the pre-candidates gathered at Clube Juventus, in Mooca, east zone of São Paulo — but did not mention Ciro Gomes’ name at any point in the recording.
At the time he received Aécio’s invitation, Ciro had already signaled that he was not ruling out his candidacy, but considered that the decision would need to be matured with his political base in Ceará, the state in which he built his career and where he had positioned himself as the main opposition to the government of Elmano de Freitas (PT).
Continues after advertising
Criticisms of polarization
To support his return to the stage, Ciro listed what he called the “worst historical moment, from a structural point of view, in Brazilian republican life”. The former minister also criticized what he considers to be convergence between the PT and PL in the conduct of economic policy — floating exchange rates, inflation targets and autonomy of the Central Bank — and demanded that both camps take a position on rare earths, a sector that he classified as “the oil of the 21st century”.
“What polarization is this where they both defend the same economic policy? It’s all the same: Lula 1, Lula 2, Lula 3, Dilma 1, Dilma 2, Bolsonaro, Michel Temer. Brazil needs an alternative. Now, I don’t know if it’s me, because I’m tired. I’ve lost belief in Brazilian mediations”, he highlighted.
Regarding the Judiciary, Ciro avoided the rhetoric of opponents who promise immediate reforms or amnesties, but criticized what he called “cronyism” in appointments to the Supreme Court. He also said that carrying out a CPI to investigate a minister and then voting in favor of a political appointment to the court is “pure opportunism”. When asked about his priority issues, Ciro defended a broad agenda, but with an emphasis on the economy.
“Brazil needs a rupture. Do we have the social base to promote this rupture? Because I don’t want to disappoint people. Brazil needs an alternative. Now, I don’t know if it’s me, because I’m tired. I’ve lost belief in Brazilian mediations”, said Ciro.
The event was organized by the State Executive of the PSDB of São Paulo and brought together the party’s pre-candidates for state and federal deputy, as well as parliamentarians, mayors and councilors from the state. Among the leaders present were the state president of the São Paulo PSDB and pre-candidate for the government of São Paulo, Paulo Serra, former mayor of Santo André; state deputy Ana Carolina Serra; former senator José Aníbal; and the mayor of Marília, Vinícius Camarinha.
The split in Ceará
Ciro’s eventual migration to the national dispute would leave the opposition to Elmano in Ceará without a strong name — and would further complicate the already broken relationship with his brother, senator Cid Gomes (PSB). In an interview published by GLOBO on April 8, Cid said it was “very embarrassing to have a brother and not vote for him”, when commenting on the possibility of facing Ciro on opposing tickets in the state.
Continues after advertising
Cid, an ally of governor Elmano, assessed that his brother’s candidacy for the Ceará government would be “almost unavoidable”, given Ciro’s alignment with PL and União Brasil and the absence of another name capable of leading the opposition ticket. The senator said he would support Ciro if he were a candidate for President, but that in the dispute for the government of Ceará the two would be on opposite sides.
The estrangement between the brothers dates back to 2022, when they disagreed about the PDT candidate for state government. Ciro played Roberto Cláudio, former mayor of Fortaleza, while Cid defended the then governor Izolda Cela. The rupture deepened in November 2023, when Cid left the PDT and migrated to the PSB along with two other brothers and around 50 municipal mayors, politically emptying Ciro’s base in the state.
