Racha in Ceará had Ciro Gomes isolated and Cid hidden – 09/21/2023 – Power

It was April 2, 2022 when Izolda Cela, then in the PDT, became the first female governor of Ceará. Three of her predecessors, architects of that historic moment, celebrated. Hugging each other, PT members Ciro and Cid Gomes and PT member Camilo Santana sang “Terral”, a hit by Belchior, Ednardo and Amelinha that exalts Ceará.

“I’m the cream of the dust, I’m from the village’s luxury, I’m from Ceará”, they sang in unison and in a tune reflected even in the white shirts. Almost a year and a half later, the scene, with Ciro between Camilo and Cid, seems like a distant memory.

Throughout 2022, the then presidential candidate and his brother broke up, putting an end to decades of loyalty and, as a bonus, the 16-year agreement between PDT and PT in Ceará. With the 2024 municipal election approaching, the split deepens.

At that moment of relaxation in April 2022, Camilo, now Minister of Education in the Lula government, had just resigned from the government to run for the Senate. He would try, with Ciro, to reissue the 2018 arrangement, when he was re-elected without supporting the then PT presidential candidate, Fernando Haddad, in the first round. In the saints of the PT member from Ceará, the person who appeared next to him was Ciro.

The pleasant atmosphere between Ciro, Cid and Camilo collapsed shortly after the video of them singing while hugging each other. The following months were marked by crises and behind-the-scenes disputes between PT and PDT leaders surrounding the state succession.

Leaders of both parties considered that Izolda Cela, sworn in as governor, would be a natural candidate for succession. According to Ciro’s allies, however, the convergence around Izolda came crashing down due to Camilo’s haste.

The PT member wanted to launch Izolda as a candidate right after her inauguration. Ciro was against it: he wanted her to gain muscle and qualify for re-election naturally. In this way, she would reach the election not as “Camilo’s candidate”, but as a strong name supported by a broad and diverse political group.

In his closest group, however, Ciro pointed out yet another reason for not choosing Izolda. Despite having entered politics with the support of the Ferreira Gomes family, the then presidential candidate thought that the ally had a great affinity with the PT and could betray him to dive into Lula’s campaign.

One of the reasons for this, he claimed, was the fact that Izolda was married to PT member Veveu Arruda. Ciro feared that, as soon as she was elected, the governor would leave the PDT and join her husband’s party.

As soon as Izolda took office, Camilo began to praise the governor. For the political world, the signs were clear: the PT member indicated his preference in the PDT, which still had as candidates the former mayor of Fortaleza Roberto Cláudio, federal deputy Mauro Filho and state deputy Evandro Leitão.

In the agreement between the two parties, it was the PDT’s turn to nominate the candidate for the Ceará government. Camilo’s move was seen as an attempt to interfere in the choice of pedestrians.

Ciro questioned the former governor’s attitude and heard from Camilo that the decision had been taken together with Cid. The strategy, however, did not pass through the PDT. Ciro saw the movement as a betrayal, broke with his brother and intensified the strategy of attacking Lula in the presidential campaign.

With the split, Ciro declared support for Roberto Cláudio, who ended up being recognized at the convention as a candidate for government. There, the PDT buried the state alliance with the PT, which nominated deputy Elmano de Freitas for the state succession. The PT member was elected in the first round.

His brother’s attitude revolted Cid, who, fearing to permanently break the relationship between the parties, withdrew from the dispute. He left the coordination of Ciro’s campaign and, in July, traveled to his farm in Meruoca, a city neighboring Sobral. After leaving the Senate, he turned off his cell phone and didn’t even answer his allies who came to his house.

Cid didn’t even go to the convention that made his brother official as a candidate for President, in July 2022. The event took place at the PDT headquarters, in Brasília, but the senator was already in Meruoca. His absence was felt by his supporters.

The answer he gave for not getting involved in the election was that he was tired of political life and wanted to retire soon. His plans, however, were different.

During his absence, Cid met once with Camilo Santana, on July 21, and said he would stay away from the state election. Four days later, he received Ciro, who had disembarked in Sobral to record insertions for election time.

Together, the brothers drank wine and ate Bolognese pasta prepared by Cid himself. In the conversation, they decided that the senator would return to work in Ciro’s campaign for Planalto — which did not happen.

In August, Cid returned to Fortaleza, but remained distant from the campaign. While Ciro was abandoned by allies and his own party, his brother made few plans to distribute saints: he went to Sobral and Juazeiro do Norte.

Immersed in the presidential campaign, Ciro lived in a vicious circle. He said that his brother’s removal was the fault of the PT and intensified the attacks on Lula. And the greater the offensive against his competitor, the more the party member distanced himself from Cid and isolated himself within his own party.

Without growing in the polls, the PDT presidential candidate became the target of an action for a useful vote for Lula. Even Roberto Cláudio, whom he supported to be the candidate for state government, hid him in the campaign.

Ciro also felt betrayed by Camilo, whom he described as his debtor for his previous support.

The feeling only increased when he saw him holding hands with former senator Eunício Oliveira (MDB) for Lula’s campaign. The relationship between the former presidential candidate and the emedebista is terrible. Ciro is still answering in court today for the attacks he made on Eunício in Camilo’s first run for government.

The approach had already been unpleasant for the pedestrian since 2018, when Camilo and Eunício came together in the first round. Having the two on the same platform, in favor of Lula, was the final straw for Ciro.

After Ciro’s defeat in the presidential race, Cid Gomes reappeared in the second round. The PED supporter became active in Lula’s campaign, which further deepened the dissatisfaction his brother felt.

In an interview with Sheet, Cid said that he did not speak out in the first round so as not to disintegrate the group in Ceará. Allies claimed that the polarized election between Lula and Jair Bolsonaro (PL) left no room for Ciro. Therefore, he did not join the campaign so as not to further increase the vacuum between the PDT and the PT.

Cid also said that everything he predicted was confirmed: the defeat of Ciro and Roberto Cláudio, and the consequent flight of mayors to the wings of the new governor.

The migration to the Elmano Freitas base, however, was not just in the municipalities. Cid himself led a movement to renew the alliance with the PT in the state. He brought to his side the brothers Ivo Gomes, mayor of Sobral; Lia Gomes, state deputy; and Lúcio Gomes, who took over Companhia Docas do Ceará.

Pedetists point out that, in this new scenario of split between Cid and Ciro, there is an imbalance of forces — with the former presidential candidate weakened within the party.

Ciro had the worst result of his career in a presidential campaign, fourth place, with 3% of the votes. He also feuded with close allies and his own party’s national executive.

In today’s eyes, allies of Cid and Ciro see the break between PT and PDT as the result of a sequence of errors that included a lack of communication, a dispute between egos and politics made with the liver in the midst of personal quarrels.

Regarding the split, Cid has said that the family issue is resolved at home. But the wounds remain open: on the day he took command of the Ceará PDT, in July, the senator avoided even mentioning his brother’s name in interviews.

He was asked about the reason and added: “Ciro, Ciro, Ciro, Ciro, Ciro. I have no problem saying his name. Eventually, I will have one position, he will have another. But the important thing is that we deal with this in a respectful manner.”