Ciro Gomes

Ciro ran for office for the first time in 1982, as a State Deputy representing Sobral, and won; he began his first term in February 1983.[18] Ciro attracted substantial media attention early on for his willingness to debate national political questions - including democracy, social reforms, and international relations - which he said other Ceará politicians ignored.[19] In 1985, Ciro also started teaching tax law as a professor at the University of Fortaleza.[20]

In 1988, Ciro was elected Mayor of Fortaleza, the capital of Ceará, and began his term the next year. As Mayor of Fortaleza, endorsed centre-left candidate Mário Covas in the first round of the 1989 presidential election and socialist candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round.[21]

Ciro was elected the Governor of Ceará in 1990, at the age of 32, becoming the second youngest governor in the country at the time.[22] His efforts included policies to support small businesses and reduce bureaucracy.[23] He also cracked down on tax evasion, increasing state revenue. Ciro also ordered increased investments in education and in public health; by July 1992, a Datafolha poll found he was the most popular governor in Brazil, with a 74% approval rate,[24] and Time magazine listed him as one of the 100 most important emerging leaders on the world stage.[25]

One of his most high-profile achievements as governor was the construction of a 71-mile long water canal, the "Canal do Trabalhador." Northeastern Brazil suffered a series of droughts in 1991, 1992, and 1993; in 1993, Ciro managed to organize and complete the construction of the canal in only 3 months, successfully bringing water to the capital city of Fortaleza and thus preventing a water supply crisis.[26]

Ciro' "Programa Viva Criança" public health program was attributed with a 32% decrease in infant mortality in the state, and was awarded the Maurice Paté prize by UNICEF.[2]

In 1994 he served as Minister of Finance in the administration of Itamar Franco. This appointment came at a crucial time in Brazil's modern economic development, when the Real Plan was underway as an economic stabilization program to fight hyperinflation. His successful performance overseeing the Real Plan was credited by some with helping Fernando Henrique Cardoso win the subsequent presidential election in the fall of 1994, after Cardoso campaigned on continuing the plan's implementation. However, Ciro would break with the Cardoso government in 1997.[27]

Map of the 1998 Brazilian presidential election. Ciro only managed to win his home state of Ceará.

A founding member of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Ciro would leave the party, which was originally centre-left, in 1997 following its right turn. Ciro would join the Socialist People's Party (PPS) in opposition to the Cardoso administration, and ran as a member of the party for president in 1998 with Roberto Freire as his running mate. During the campaign, Ciro attempted to position himself as a left alternative to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a staple of the Brazilian left who had run for president twice prior to 1998 as a member of the Workers' Party (PT).

The centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement (PMDB), a kingmaker in Brazilian politics, considered supporting his candidacy, but did not end up doing so.[28] In the end, Ciro came in third place in the first round, and won 11% of the vote (only the top two candidates advance to the second round). The sole state he won was Ceará, his home state.

During the 2002 presidential election, Ciro looked to be formidable, even passing PSDB candidate José Serra, the main centre-right candidate, at one point in the polls.[29] However, a series of gaffes, most notable a crass joke about his wife Patrícia Pillar,[30] led to his collapse in the polls, and Ciro came in fourth place in the first round, with 12% of the vote.[31] He supported Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the 2002 election, and was ultimately chosen to be the Minister for National Integration in Lula's new government.[32]

Minister of National Integration Ciro Gomes with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2005.

When the PPS' leadership voted to leave the governing coalition in December 2004 that propped up Lula's government, Ciro chose to remain in his post. As a result, the PPS removed him from the party leadership, and he decided to join the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) in 2005. In 2006 he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies with 16.19% of the vote, the highest percentage ever achieved by a single candidate in a proportional election.[33]

He has been publicly critical of the efforts to impeach Dilma Rousseff and prosecute of Lula.[34]

Having passed on a presidential campaign in 2010, Ciro announced his long-awaited third bid for the presidency in the 2018 presidential election as the candidate of the PDT. For the position of Vice President, Ciro chose Kátia Abreu, a centre former Minister of Agriculture, as his running mate.

Logo used during Ciro's 2018 presidential campaign.

Political analysts had widely speculated that, since Lula was legally barred from running for president (after his conviction for corruption, under Brazil's "Ficha Limpa" law), Ciro would attract many of Lula's supporters in the 2018 presidential election, and potentially unite a number of left and center-left political parties.[35] His main contender for the left vote was Fernando Haddad, the former Mayor of São Paulo, running as a member of the Workers' Party (PT) with Lula's backing. Polling showed that Ciro would have performed better versus Bolsonaro in the second round than Haddad would have.

While Ciro polled competitively throughout most of the election, Lula's endorsement of Haddad rallied enough of his former voters to support Haddad.[36] As a result, Ciro finished in third place in the first round, only coming in first place in his home state of Ceará.

In the second round, Ciro announced his opposition to right-wing rival Jair Bolsonaro, who he describes as a "fascist" for his pro-military rule statements,[37] but did not formally endorse Haddad.[38] Following the election of Bolsonaro over Haddad, a number of major left figures including Governor Rui Costa of Bahia, a member of the PT, indicated they regret supporting Haddad over Ciro.[39]