After dealing with mayors, governors and parliamentarians from across the country as secretary of Federal Affairs at Palácio do Planalto, André Ceciliano (PT) could run for federal deputy this year. But he chose to try to return to , as a candidate for state deputy.
Ceciliano’s plan is to return to preside over Alerj from 2027, in the wake of yet another crisis in the House, with the arrest of the last former leader, (União Brasil), and two other deputies of the House for signs of corruption and association with drug trafficking, (expelled from the MDB) and (Avante).
The PT member assumed the presidency of Alerj for the first time in 2017, with the medical leaves of president Jorge Picciani and first vice-president, Wagner Montes. He continued until 2019, when he was elected for the first time by his peers to head the House, being re-elected in 2021.
The current president of Alerj is (PL). Before him, of the five presidents elected by state deputies to preside over the House this century –Sérgio Cabral (PSDB/PMDB), Jorge Picciani (PMDB), Paulo Melo (PMDB), André Ceciliano (PT) and Rodrigo Bacellar (União Brasil)—, only Ceciliano was not arrested.
Although he considers that the current crisis can help in the “purification process that the state parliament needs to go through, keeping the very good deputies there and sending home those who do not honor the trust placed in them”, he states that Alerj has already had moments of recognition from the population.
“That’s where the policy of quotas in universities came from, the end of the secret vote for the impeachment of deputies, the free pass for students. It is possible to requalify Alerj, but this fundamentally depends on the conscience of the vote, by the voter”, says Ceciliano.
The partly cautious speech with positive references to Alerj obviously has to do with 2027, but it is rather a reflection of the PT member’s moderate and diplomatic profile, an experienced articulator who interacts well with different internal currents within the House.
Regarding his management, Ceciliano states that he decentralized resources and cut costs. “I saved R$500 million annually from a budget of R$1.2 to R$1.3 billion [hoje é de R$ 1,6 bi]. The entire bidding process was filmed. We moralized the house.”
One of the actions highlighted by him and other deputies was the creation of a Tax Advisory at Alerj, headed by economist and professor Mauro Osório (UFRJ) and which included engineer Magda Chambriard, current president of Petrobras.
Upon request from Alerj, UFRJ and UFRRJ also prepared a , to plan investments in the state, prepared by a team made up of economist Esther Dweck, current Minister of Management.
The political career of his son, Andrezinho Ceciliano (PT), mayor of Paracambi (a municipality that he himself has commanded twice), is also a reason for the former president of Alerj to choose to run for state, either to be closer to him or to prevent federal deputies from resisting dedicating amendments to the municipality – which could happen if he decided to run as a candidate for the National Congress.
