Gerson Camata (June 29, 1941 – December 26, 2018) was a Brazilian journalist and politician. Camata served in

Federal Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. Senate or the Senate may also refer to: * Any one of the national senates in the world, including ** The Brazilian Senate ** The United States Sen ...

for three terms from 1987 until 2011. He was also the first person

directly elected Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are cho ...

Governor of Espírito Santo A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, an office he held from 1983 to 1986, following the restoration of democracy in the 1980s. On December 26, 2018, Camata was shot and killed outside a restaurant in the upscale neighborhood of

Vitória, Espírito Santo Vitória (, ''Victory''), spelled Victória until the 1940s, is the capital of the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. It is located on a small island within a bay where a number of rivers meet the sea. It was founded in 1551. The city proper has ...

by his former aide.

Biography

Camata graduated from

Federal University of Espírito Santo The Federal University of Espírito Santo ( pt, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, ''Ufes'') is a federal university with headquarters in the city of Vitória, capital of Espírito Santo state, in Brazil. It is the largest and most importa ...

with a degree in economics. He worked as a journalist and host for Radio Espírito Santo, where he covered crime and the police. In 1967, Camata began his political career as a Vitória city alderman for the National Renewal Alliance (ARENA), the party of the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil at the time. He served on the city council from 1967 until 1970, when he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Espírito Santo as an ARENA state deputy. In 1974, Camata was elected to the federal Chamber of Deputies as a member of ARENA. He won re-election to a second term in the Chamber of Deputies in 1978. In 1979, with the legalization of opposition parties, Camata left ARENA and joined the newly formed

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) in opposition to the government. In 1982, Camata announced his candidacy for

. He won the 1982 Espírito Santo gubernatorial election with 67% of the vote, becoming the first person directly elected as Espírito Santo's governor during the transition to democracy. He served as governor from 1983 until 1986, when he resigned to run for the

. His vice governor, , succeeded Camata as the new governor of Espírito Santo. Camata was elected to his first term in the Federal Senate in the 1986 Brazilian legislative election. He won re-election to Senate in the

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

and 2002 legislative elections. Camata served the Senate for twenty-four years (and three full terms) until his retirement in 2011. During his final term, Camata simultaneously served as the state Secretary of Development, Infrastructure and Transport under Governor

Paulo Hartung Paulo Cesar Hartung Gomes (born April 21, 1957) is a Brazilian politician and was the Governor of the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo from 2003 until 2010. He served as Governor of Espírito Santo for a third, nonconsecutive term from January ...

, beginning in May 2006.

Assassination

On December 26, 2018, Camata was shot and killed by a former aide in the neighborhood of

. The shooting occurred outside a restaurant near the intersection of Chapot Presvot and Joaquim Lyrio streets. Camata was shot in the left shoulder. The bullet exited through his right shoulder, causing damage to his internal organs. He did not survive the attack and died at the age of 77. Police captured the assailant, Marcos Vinícius Moreira Andrade, a former aide to Camata, just minutes after the attack. Camata, a resident of the Ilha do Frade neighborhood of Vitória, was survived by his wife,

Rita Camata Rita de Cássia Paste Camata (born January 1, 1961) is a Brazilian politician and journalist Early life She was born in Conceição do Castelo, to Antônio Paste and Anidis Venturim Paste. In 1981 she attended the Federal University of Espír ...

, a former state and federal deputy, and their two children, Bruno and Enza Rafaela. Espírito Santo Governor

declared seven days of mourning following Camata's murder.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Camata, Gerson 1941 births 2018 deaths People from Castelo, Espírito Santo Brazilian people of Italian descent National Renewal Alliance politicians Brazilian Democratic Movement politicians Brazilian Social Democracy Party politicians Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) from Espírito Santo Members of the Federal Senate (Brazil) Governors of Espírito Santo Members of the Legislative Assembly of Espírito Santo Assassinated Brazilian politicians Brazilian radio journalists Spouses of Brazilian politicians 2010s assassinated politicians in South America Grand Officers of the Order of Ipiranga Assassinated politicians in 2018