Former minister may run for governor of Ceará.
The Minister of the Special Secretariat of Ports, Leônidas Cristino (PROS), is due to meet this Thursday (3) with President Dilma Rousseff (PT), to negotiate his departure from office; one of the reasons for the minister's departure would be the likely nomination by the Governor of Ceará, Cid Gomes, and former minister Ciro Gomes, for Cristino to be their chosen candidate to run for Governor of the State in 2014.
PE247 - The Minister of the Special Secretariat of Ports, Leônidas Cristino (PROS), is expected to meet this Thursday (3) with President Dilma Rousseff (PT) to negotiate his departure from office. The announcement was made during a meeting held on Tuesday night (1) in Ceará, which sealed the departure of the Governor of Ceará, Cid Gomes, and his brother, Ciro Gomes, from the PSB and their entry into the newly founded PROS. According to rumors, the reason for the minister's departure would be the likely nomination by Governor Cid Gomes and former Minister Ciro Gomes for Cristino to be the chosen candidate to run for Governor of the State in the 2014 election. The minister, however, stated that the "tendency" is to work on his candidacy for the Federal Chamber.
Cristino is part of a bloc of approximately 500 politicians who support Cid and Ciro Gomes, and who followed the brothers in leaving the PSB after disagreements with the national executive. In a meeting held this Tuesday, the bloc decided to join the Republican Party of Social Order (PROS). The party, which is already emerging as the largest party in Ceará, is expected to support President Dilma's reelection bid.
During the program “Roda Viva”, broadcast last Monday (30) by TV Cultura, Governor Cid Gomes (PSB) had already declared that he does not want his political protégé to continue at the head of the ministry. “If it depends on me, he leaves,” he said. One of the fears for Cristino not remaining in the position is to avoid as much as possible the label of opportunism on the part of the now rival PSB.
Despite Cristino's statement about plans to run for federal deputy, everything indicates that he will be Cid's chosen successor as the political governor of Ceará, representing the PROS party. If the nomination materializes, the minister will likely compete with the former mayor of Fortaleza, Luizianne Lins (PT), one of the biggest political rivals of the Gomes clan. The PSB has not yet given any indication of who it will nominate to run for governor of the state.