PE: Carnival had united opponents and test for managers – 02/09/2024 – Power

Union of political opponents in an event box. Mayors in popularity tests in Recife. Governor discovered by television reporter among revelers at Galo da Madrugada. These were some of the recent episodes that connected politics and Carnival in Pernambuco.

The main party on the state’s calendar is also used as a political platform in the search for votes in election years and as tests of the popularity of those in power, such as mayors and governors.

One of the episodes that caught the attention of political circles took place in 2007 at Galo da Madrugada, which parades on Saturdays during Recife’s Carnival.

The Pernambuco Government box, now extinct, brought together several governors of the time, such as the host Eduardo Campos (PSB), Jaques Wagner (PT), from Bahia, and Sérgio Cabral (MDB), from Rio de Janeiro — a trio allied with Lula (PT)—, in addition to opponents of the then president, such as Aécio Neves (PSDB), from Minas Gerais, and Cássio Cunha Lima (PSDB), from Paraíba.

People close to Campos during the period told the report that the invitation to the other governors was made directly by the Pernambuco native himself, who died in 2014 in a plane crash in Santos, on the coast of São Paulo.

Eduardo had a good relationship with everyone present, despite political differences with Aécio and Cássio. Even so, the coexistence was festive in the box where the five state chief executives were.

The tradition in Pernambuco is for the governor, like the current Raquel Lyra (PSDB), to attend Galo, which brings together thousands of people on the streets of the capital.

One of the governors who took part in the revelry was Gustavo Krause, who was head of the state Executive during Carnival in 1987. Before that, he participated in the revelry as vice-governor, deputy, councilor and mayor, between 1979 and 1982, appointed by then governor Marco Maciel , during the period of the military dictatorship, or even when he was an ordinary citizen.

Gustavo Krause started going to Galo da Madrugada in 1979, when the group took to the streets at dawn, literally, and didn’t have the same proportions as today. Afterwards, he saw the procession explode in number of revelers from inside, as one of its participants.

Former Minister of the Environment and Finance, Gustavo is the father of the current vice-governor of Pernambuco, Priscila Krause, who accompanied him and her sisters to the block.

On one occasion, when he was mayor, he was in the public in costume and wearing a mask, alongside the then first lady Cléa Borges.

Reporter Francisco José, who worked for TV Globo Pernambuco, noticed, at the time, that the mayor’s then wife was on the street and suspected that, next to her, was the mayor.

“He, very smart, saw my wife lift her mask to have a drink. When he noticed a guy in costume next to her, he realized it was me. He arrived with her [gravando e com a câmera ligada] and said: ‘Galo da Madrugada is a democratic bloc, everyone jokes, including the mayor. I’m next to him. Mayor, take off your mask'”, says Gustavo Krause, describing the journalist’s speech.

Allies from Gustavo Krause’s time say that the fact that he went out into the public raised concerns about the security of city hall and the government.

He reports that he took to the streets without security and says he never suffered hostility while holding public office. “I also didn’t go into the spotlights and in some places. I followed the electric trios because of the songs”, says the former governor, who is co-author of the lyrics of the song “Fogo do Galo”, a song sung by Bubuska Valença, Alceu’s cousin .

On the left, João Paulo (PT), who was head of the Recife Executive between 2001 and 2008, created the Marco Zero Carnival hub, currently the main party hub in the city.

The PT member was considered a party-loving mayor and had already gone viral, even before the days of social media, with a video in which he appeared on television dancing frevo during the promotion of the Recife event in São Paulo.

João Paulo states that, for the consolidation of the Recife Carnival, the union with opponents, such as the then governor Jarbas Vasconcelos (MDB), who was manager at the same time as the PT member for six years, was decisive.

“We need [essa convivência com adversários nesses eventos]. We have political and ideological differences in politics, but when it comes to issues affecting society, we need to have unity. I had big disputes with Jarbas, but the partnerships were crucial during Carnival”, says João Paulo, currently state deputy.

The two were even seen laughing together at Carnival parties, which generated irritation in a wing of the PT, as Jarbas was one of the most critical of Lula.

Currently, the mayor of Recife, João Campos (PSB), also surfs Carnival in an attempt to increase popularity. Seen as a favorite for re-election in the October elections, he is trying to captivate the public with dances and responding to public requests on social media.

One of the requests was for the mayor to leave his hair platinum, which generated several questions as to whether it would ‘snow’. João Campos left his hair blonde, temporarily, on Thursday (8), the opening of Carnival, in response to calls from brega singers. The coloring is commonly used by singers of the rhythm that has gained more space in the Pernambuco festival in recent years.

To make a statement, Raquel Lyra also decided to make innovations at Carnival. For the first time officially, the Government of Pernambuco pays tribute on the festive date.

In 2024, the singers Alceu Valença, Claudionor Germano and Lia de Itamaracá were chosen and had meetings with the head of the Executive to celebrate the bows.

Due to Carnival, Raquel and João Campos had a meeting two weeks before the festivities, at the invitation of the governor, at the Palácio do Campo das Princesas. The meeting had repercussions in the political world because it took place amidst a context of disputes between the two political groups. This Thursday, the governor chose to go to the opening of the Carnival in Olinda, instead of Recife.