Who is Ciro Gomes?
Ciro Ferreira Gomes, born in Pindamonhangaba in 1957 and raised in Sobral, Ceará, began in the state assembly in 1983. He was mayor of Fortaleza, governor of Ceará from 1991, finance minister under Itamar Franco in 1994 and national integration minister in Lula's first government. He ran for president in 1998, 2002, 2018 and 2022, finishing fourth with 3.04 percent of valid votes in the last. After leaving the PDT he returned to the PSDB and said in May 2026 that he would seek the Ceará governorship rather than the presidency. On 4 October 2026 he lost to Elmano de Freitas (PT), who won re-election in the first round with 53.19 percent of valid votes to his 46.22.
Previously: Federal deputy (2007-2011) · Minister of National Integration (from 2003) · Minister of Finance (1994) · Governor of Ceará (elected 1990) · Mayor of Fortaleza (elected 1988) · State deputy in Ceará (elected 1982 and 1986) · Presidential candidate (1998, 2002, 2018, 2022)
Documented positions
- In 2022 he proposed merging PIS, Cofins, ISS, ICMS, IPI and CSLL into one value-added tax and removing taxes on purchases of capital goods.Source: poder360.com.br
- In 2022 he proposed a 0.5 percent annual tax on personal fortunes above R$20 million and income tax on distributed profits and dividends.Source: poder360.com.br
- In 2022 he proposed replacing pay-as-you-go pensions with individual capitalisation accounts invested in the private sector.Source: poder360.com.br
- He criticised the central bank for raising the Selic rate from 2 to 13.25 percent and proposed renegotiating the debts of about 66 million families and a sovereign fund managed by BNDES.Source: poder360.com.br
- His 2026 platform for Ceará aims at the command chains of criminal factions, opposes body cameras for military police and promises to resume Fortaleza metro works.Source: cnnbrasil.com.br
- In April 2026 he called Ceará's security situation severe, citing organised crime's reach into politics, and said local divisions between Lula and Bolsonaro supporters could be set aside for a state agenda.Source: mais.opovo.com.br
- In June 2024 he said the international left had abandoned the fight against poverty and inequality and criticised its focus on identity politics.Source: mais.opovo.com.br
- He ran in 2026 with a coalition of PSDB, PL, União Brasil, PP, DC and Avante, and Michelle Bolsonaro blocked a separate deal with the PL that he had explored earlier.Source: dgabc.com.br
Record
Ciro Gomes governed Ceará in the early 1990s, took part in the Real Plan as finance minister in 1994 and sat in Lula's first cabinet from 2003. His later career has been defined by four presidential defeats, a rupture with the PT and a move across parties from the PDT back to the PSDB. In 2026 his campaign for governor drew support from the PL's state caucus while his brother Cid Gomes backed the PT incumbent.
Supporters credit his record as governor and finance minister and his command of economic detail. Poder360 wrote after the vote that the defeat widens his political wear, and critics point to his shifting party ties and alliances.
