The municipality of Santa Quitéria, in Ceará, is holding a supplementary election this Sunday (26) to elect a new mayor. The city will vote again because mayor José Braga Barroso (PSB), known as Braguinha, and his vice-mayor Gardel Padeiro (PSB) were impeached by the Regional Electoral Court of Ceará (TRE – CE) for abuse of political and economic power. Elected in 2024, both were accused of having received support from the criminal faction Comando Vermelho (CV), which threatened opposition supporters, offered drugs in exchange for votes during the electoral campaign and summoned voters.
Three candidates are running for the position of mayor of Santa Quitéria: Cândida Figueiredo (União Brasil), former state deputy and wife of the former mayor and opponent of Braguinha Tomás Figueiredo; Joel Barroso (PSB), current interim mayor, president of the City Council and son of Braguinha; and Lídia Protásio (PT), former vice-mayor of Braguinha in the first term and interim mayor during her retirement in 2024.
The supplementary electoral campaign, which lasted 33 days, did not record any reports of threats from the faction. Just over 33,000 voters are eligible to vote in the election and around 600 poll workers were called to work at 52 polling stations in the municipality.
José Braga Barroso (PSB), Braguinha, was re-elected in 2024 to serve his second term as mayor, but was arrested on January 1st, right before taking office. He was accused of having been favored by Comando Vermelho (CV) in the dispute against former mayor and then candidate Tomás Figueiredo (MDB).
Organized crime interference involved the supply of drugs to buy votes, with Anastácio Paiva Pereira, known as Doze and described as leader of the faction in the interior of Ceará, ordering publications on social media to “get the support of addicts”. The actions in favor of Braguinha, ordered directly from Rio de Janeiro, also included threats against Figueiredo’s electoral campaigners.
According to the accusation by the Public Electoral Ministry (MPE), which requested the revocation of Braguinha and the vice-mayor’s mandate in 2024, the party practiced or benefited from the abuse of political and economic power, which compromised the legitimacy of the election. José Braga Barroso’s defense denied all accusations.
