Wagner Sousa Gomes, also known as Capitão Wagner (born January 21, 1979) is a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the Military Police Reserve of the State of

Ceará Ceará (, pronounced locally as or ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the eighth-largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the ...

and a Brazilian politician affiliated to

Brazil Union The Brazil Union () is a liberal-conservative political party in Brazil. The party was founded on 6 October 2021 from a merger between the Democrats (DEM) and the Social Liberal Party (PSL). The merger resulted in the biggest party in Brazil, a ...

(UNIÃO). He was a federal deputy in office from 2019 to 2023. Leader of Ceará's public security workers, he was notable for leading the 2011 Ceará Military Police riot, which was responsible for the insecurity among the population and the chaos brought to the city of

Fortaleza Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...

with a forced quarantine. At the time, he exchanged insults with the then governor

Cid Gomes Cid Ferreira Gomes (born 27 April 1963) is a Brazilian politician who serves as a Senator for the state of Ceará since 2019. He is a member of the Democratic Labour Party (PDT) since 2015, and is the brother of fellow Brazilian politician Ciro ...

and his brother

Ciro Gomes Ciro Ferreira Gomes (; born 6 November 1957), known mononymously as Ciro, is a Brazilian politician, lawyer, and academic. Ciro is currently affiliated with and vice-president of the Democratic Labour Party (PDT). Born in São Paulo but rais ...

. He was the most voted councillor of

in 2012, the most voted state deputy in Ceará in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and the most voted federal deputy in Ceará in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. He was also a candidate for mayor in the 2016 Fortaleza mayoral election and 2020 Fortaleza mayoral election and in both disputes, he advanced to a second round. But in the end, Mayor

Roberto Cláudio Roberto Cláudio Rodrigues Bezerra () is a Brazilian politician, the former mayor of Fortaleza, the fifth largest city in Brazil, from 2013 to 2021. Roberto Cláudio (as he is known in politics) is a doctor, graduated from the Federal University ...

(in 2016) and José Sarto (in 2020), both members of the Democratic Labour Party (PDT) were elected. He's currently the Secretary of Health of Maracanaú under Roberto Pessoa's administration.

Career

Wagner Sousa Gomes was born in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, in the district of Santo Amaro, and as a child he moved to

. In 2009, he was approved in a Federal Highway Police (PRF) test. After he took the position of Bachelor in Public Security, Wagner was the leader of the strike movement of the Military Police and Firefighters in Ceará, from the end of 2011 to 2012. In 2009, he joined the

Party of the Republic The Liberal Party ( pt, Partido Liberal, PL) is a conservative and national liberal political party in Brazil. From its foundation in 2006 until 2019, it was called the Party of the Republic ( pt, Partido da República, PR). The party was found ...

(PR). He ran in 2010 for State Deputy of Ceará, having obtained 28,818 votes, being Fernanda Pessoa's substitute. He took office in September 2011, when he went to the proportional paid reserve of the Military Police of Ceará, due to the deputy's retirement. He participated in the electoral race for councillor in Fortaleza in 2012, being elected with the highest number of votes in the city. In 2014, he ran for state deputy and was again elected with the highest number of votes. In an interview with Rádio Clube, on March 16, 2016, he announced his candidacy for mayor of Fortaleza, which had the support of the

Brazilian Social Democracy Party The Brazilian Social Democracy Party ( pt, Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira, PSDB), also known as the Brazilian Social Democratic Party or the Party of Brazilian Social Democracy,. is a political party in Brazil Brazil has a multi-pa ...

(PSDB), of the

Brazilian Democratic Movement Party The Brazilian Democratic Movement ( pt, Movimento Democrático Brasileiro, MDB) is a Brazilian political party. It is considered a " big tent party" and it is one of the parties with the greatest representation throughout the national territory, ...

(PMDB) and

Solidariedade Solidarity (, (Brazilian Portuguese: ''Solidariedade'') is a Brazilian social-democratic political party that uses the TSE number 77. The party elected 13 deputies and one senator in the 2018 Brazilian general election. In the 2022 Brazilian ge ...

(SD). In August 2016, at an event of his campaign in the João XXIII neighborhood of Fortaleza, he assured that his first proposal was to arm and train the Municipal Guard of

. However, he received criticism from his opponent,

Luizianne Lins Luizianne de Oliveira Lins (born 18 November 1968) is a Brazilian journalist. politician and former mayor of Fortaleza. She was Fortaleza's second female mayor. Luizianne Lins has been affiliated with the Workers' Party since 1989. She declares ...

(PT), stating that it would be “a thing for desperate people”. In the 2016 Fortaleza mayoral election, Capitão Wagner obtained 400,802 votes (31.15%), which lead the dispute for the mayor of Fortaleza to a second round with

(PDT). He was defeated in the second round, obtaining 588,451 votes (46.43%) against Roberto Cláudio's 678,847 votes (53.57%). In 2018, Capitão Wagner joined the

Republican Party of the Social Order The Republican Party of the Social Order (Portuguese: ''Partido Republicano da Ordem Social'', ''PROS'') is a political party in Brazil, founded in 2010, and officially recognized in 2013.state elections in Ceará as a candidate for the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

. He ended up being the most voted candidate for federal deputy in the state, with over 300,000 votes. Accused of leading the 2020 police riot in Ceará, Wagner presented a bill in the Chamber of Deputies to give amnesty to security agents involved in the strike. The project was rejected by the president of the Chamber of the Deputies at the time,

Rodrigo Maia Rodrigo Felinto Ibarra Epitácio Maia (born 12 June 1970) is a Brazilian politician and served as President of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil between July 2016 and February 2021. Maia is the son of former Rio de Janeiro Mayor Cesar Maia and ...

. In the 2020 Fortaleza mayoral election, Capitão Wagner was a candidate for mayor for a second time. In the second round, he got 624,892 votes (48.31%), being defeated by José Sarto ( PDT), who got 668,652 votes (51.69%). In the

2022 Ceará gubernatorial election The 2022 Ceará state election took place in the state of Ceará, Brazil on 2 October 2022. Voters elected the President and Vice President of the Republic, a Governor, Vice Governor of the State and a Senator of the Republic with two alternates ...

, Capitão Wagner was a candidate for governor for the first time. He got 1,649,213 votes (31.72%) and was defeated in the first round by Elmano de Freitas ( PT), elected with almost 3 million votes. In 2 February 2023, he was appointed by the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Maracanaú Maracanaú is a municipality in the state of Ceará, Brazil. Its name comes from Tupi language and means "lagoon where maracanãs (red-shouldered macaws) drink", because of the presence of these birds flying over the lagoons in the city's area. ...

, Roberto Pessoa ( UNIÃO), as the new Secretary of Health of the municipality.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Capitao 1979 births Living people Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) from Ceará Members of the Legislative Assembly of Ceará Brazil Union politicians Republican Party of the Social Order politicians Liberal Party (Brazil, 2006) politicians